William Nylander dismissed rumours that Mitch Marner had planned to leave the Toronto Maple Leafs before the season ended and called those reports made up. Nylander asked Marner during the season and Marner replied he was concentrating on Toronto, so Nylander did not press him; after the season Marner remained unsure. With Marner's free agency looming, Nylander avoided begging him to stay, expressed happiness for Marner and his family, acknowledged the team will miss him, and emphasized the need for the Maple Leafs to regroup and find ways to keep winning games.
"Not sure where that stuff comes from, but I don't think he was ever thinking of leaving ahead of time," Nylander said via NHL.com. "I actually asked him during the season and he said he was concentrating on Toronto. I didn't want to press him on that and let him be because it was obviously on his mind, but his play was focused on helping us. Then I asked him after the season and he wasn't sure."
"It's tough seeing him go but I'm so happy for him and his family," he said. "He got to pick where he went so, in that aspect, I'm happy for him. We're going to miss him a lot but that's just the business of the sport. That's the way it is. So we've got to regroup as a team and figure out a way to keep winning games."
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