William Nylander has missed 11 of the last 15 Maple Leafs games with injury. Justin Berl / Getty Images
TORONTO — After flipping Leafs Nation the bird, William Nylander says he’s sorry for his moment of frustration.
The Toronto Maple Leafs star issued an apology on his Instagram account hours after raising a middle finger to the camera during Sunday’s 4-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. Nylander was shown sitting in the press box alongside the Leafs’ other injured and scratched players during the TSN regional broadcast and said something to his teammates before making the obscene gesture with a smile.
Still images of his raised finger immediately went viral on social media.
Nylander, who has missed 11 of Toronto’s last 15 games with a groin injury, later clarified that he didn’t intend to offend any fans during one of the team’s “Next Gen” games.
“Only love for leafs nation,” he wrote. “sorry about my moment of frustration today! didn’t mean to upset anyone. looking forward to being back on the ice and not in the stands. love willy.”
Nylander has recently resumed skating, but an official timeline has not been provided for his expected return to the lineup. He leads the team with 48 points in 37 games and is due to represent Sweden at next month’s Milan-Cortina Olympics.
The Leafs have fallen 5 points back of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race after an 0-3-1 start to their current homestand. They’re scheduled to face the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Nylander might face discipline from the NHL for his action. A league source told The Athletic that the incident was being looked at on Sunday night.
