William Nylander makes his thoughts extremely clear on Rocket Richard trophy race with $112,000,000 Oilers forward

By Abhilasha Aditi

Modified Dec 22, 2024 11:08 GMT

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William Nylander talked about the race for the Rocket Richard Trophy during Saturday's postgame media session. After the Toronto Maple Leafs’ game against the New York Islanders, Nylander was asked about his competition with Leon Draisaitl.

Nylander, who is only three goals behind Draisaitl, said:

"I know that Leon had 32 or 23 goals or whatever, but it's like, that's not what I'm thinking about." (8:04)

Watch William Nylander's interview with reporters:

Nylander has been an offensive powerhouse for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He scored 40 goals and 58 assists in the 2023-24 season.

Draisaitl, who signed an 8-year, $112 million contract extension with the Edmonton Oilers in September, has 24 goals and 27 assists for 51 points this season. He is on track to score 59 goals this season, per ESPN. Draisaitl recently reached his 900th career point in a 3-2 OT win against the San Jose Sharks. He has been consistent in producing offense, with a career total of 370 goals and 530 assists.

While Nylander is closely following Draisaitl, his focus is not on the competition. The Leafs lost in the first round of playoffs last season to the Boston Bruins following which they appointed Craig Berube as the new coach. So, Nylander and the Leafs are focused on improving their play and better playoff performance and not the Rocket Richard Trophy.

William Nylander expresses concern for linemate Auston Matthews

Auston Matthews missed the game against the New York Islanders and may not return until after the holiday break. His injury worsened in the win against the Buffalo Sabres, after a cross-check from Dennis Gilbert. Matthews had previously missed nine games this season due to an upper-body injury.

William Nylander expressed concern for Auston Matthews after he re-aggravated his injury. He said:

“Obviously, you want him playing and feeling good. I don’t know when that is, so hopefully, it's soon.”

Toronto Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube also commented on Matthews' injury.

"I'm not a doctor. I can't answer that question." Berube said. "I'm hoping here with the break coming up, he can get some relief, feel better, be ready to go, recharge. So that's really all I can say about it."

In 24 games this season, Matthews has scored 11 goals and 12 assists. Without him, the Leafs lost 6-3 to the Islanders. William Nylander scored twice in the game, but it wasn’t enough to secure a win.

The Leafs are 21-11-2 in the Atlantic Division. Matthews’ return will be important for their playoff chances, as his scoring is crucial for the team.