Update: Photos from car crash involving Nylander and Kapanen released

The Toronto Maple Leafs fanbase got nervous earlier today when it was confirmed by the team that forward William Nylander and teammate Kasperi Kapanen were involved in a car accident on Friday near the team's practice facility. There were no injuries, the Maple Leafs added in the statement. 

This took place less than 24 hours after Nylander made a return to action within the Leafs' lineup after agreeing to a contract extension on Saturday at the restricted free agent deadline. 

The incident occurred around 2:20 p.m. on Kipling Avenue near the Mastercard Centre for Hockey Excellence, as both players were involved in a minor collision outside the team’s practice facility in Etobicokeon. 

The Canadian Press released images from the scene: they show a burnt orange Volvo sedan with damage to its passenger side. Traffic was paused as players stepped out to look at the damage and talk to another driver. The images were provided by Ed (@edallley) who posted them on his Twitter account. 

The practice occurred this morning after the Maple Leafs fell 5-4 in overtime at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings. Nylander drew a Niklas Kronwall holding penalty and had a couple shot attempts blocked, but otherwise didn’t get a whole lot accomplished in 12:29 of ice time — the 10th-lowest total of his 186-game NHL career. Both Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson both received more ice-time with 17:26 and 14:05 respectively. He didn’t play in the final 11:37 of regulation. Nylander was demoted to the fourth line for a spell, while Kapanen moved up to the Matthews line.

On Friday during the Leafs' practice, head coach Mike Babcock made some changes to his lineup. The 22-year-old winger practiced on a line with Nazem Kadri and Connor Brown, while Matthews skated with Kapanen and Johnsson. Marleau did not practice on Friday, leaving Tyler Ennis, Par Lindholm and Frederik Gauthier to form the fourth line. The line of Zach Hyman, John Tavares and Mitch Marner once again remained untouched.

It's good news to hear that no injuries took place in this crash. We are sure however that the kids were shaken up by the incident. We will provide more information from the team if this car crash impacts the lineup for Saturday. 

The Maple Leafs will visit the Boston Bruins on Saturday night.