William Nylander emphasized that players want to win and focus on internal goals rather than external opinions. He stressed that the locker room understands what must be done and that reaching championship level requires appreciating the grind. The remarks occurred amid the NHL European Player Media Tour and Olympic conversation. The question of Toronto pressure gained attention after Mitch Marner signed with the Vegas Golden Knights. Some attribute Marner's departure to an inability to handle Toronto scrutiny, but the situation is more complex. Nylander has committed to the Maple Leafs long-term and downplayed outside chatter.
So, I mean, I think we have our goal to want to go all the way. I've been playing there for a while, but I don't know, I don't really think about what other people say or what their opinion is on how we're playing. We inside the locker room know what we need to do. It's not an easy battle, you've got to appreciate the grind it takes when you eventually get to that point.
This topic has been always prevalent and in the modern NHL, it's always been something discussed at least once a season. But it is more relevant than it has been in a while with homegrown star winger Mitch Marner opting to leave his childhood hockey team to go sign with the Vegas Golden Knights. The easy answer is that Marner didn't have the right mentality to handle the pressure of playing at the centre of the hockey universe,
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