William Nylander didn’t participate in the Maple Leafs’ 4–1 defeat to the Avalanche on Sunday, though that didn’t prevent the forward from making headlines.
During the game, Nylander was shown on the broadcast from his seat in a suite alongside Toronto’s other injured players. When the camera panned to him, Nylander bizarrely decided to stick up his middle finger.
The head-scratching decision from the injured forward didn’t sit well with fans, many of whom took offense to his gesture. A few hours later, Nylander took to social media to issue an apology of sorts, likening the incident to a “moment of frustration.”
William Nylander apologizes for “moment of frustration” @BarDown pic.twitter.com/ynEk2RLDyS
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) January 26, 2026
“Only love for leafs nation,” wrote Nylander along with two blue and two white heart emojis. “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 been dealing with injuries throughout the season, which have sidelined him for 15 of the Maple Leafs’ 52 games. When healthy, he’s been excellent on offense, racking up 48 points in 37 games. Still, even when he’s available, the team has struggled. And he couldn’t hide his frustrations when his face was shown on screen in the midst of another blowout loss from his team on Sunday,
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as William Nylander Apologizes for Inappropriate Gesture to Camera During Maple Leafs Game.
