Alex and his brother, William, spent the last couple of years living together in Toronto as the former tried to get his game back to an NHL level.
It is professional tryout (PTO) season and it looks like a former Toronto Maple Leafs forward is on the move.
The Calgary Flames are expected to bring Alex Nylander to training camp on a professional tryout, according to a PuckPedia report late Tuesday night. For a 28-year-old winger born in Calgary while his father, Michael, played for the Flames, the news has the look of a homecoming. But if it’s anything like Alex’s brother. William, they don’t really consider Calgary home, despite the birthplace.
Nylander arrived in the Leafs organization in the summer of 2024 as an unrestricted free agent, signing an AHL-only deal. He had just scored 11 goals in 23 games in his short stint with the Columbus Blue Jackets prior to signing. And although offers existed with other NHL clubs, he chose an AHL deal with the Marlies anyway, citing development and the chance to play in the same city as his brother. Iin November 2024, when injuries forced Toronto’s hand. The Leafs signed him to a one-year, $775,000 NHL contract and recalled him. The brothers became the fifth set to dress together in Maple Leafs history. They drove to the rink together. They walked into Scotiabank Arena together.
Five games later, the experiment was over. Nylander finished with no points, a minus-1 rating, and 9:53 of ice time a night in a bottom-six role. He cleared waivers on Dec. 12 and went back to the Marlies.
In 2024-25 he put up 23 goals and 44 points in 64 games with the Marlies, second on the club behind Alex Steeves. After going unsigned again the next summer, he re-upped with Toronto on another one-year AHL deal. In 2025-26 he reached AHL-career highs with 29 assists and 53 points in 65 games, adding 24 goals.
The AHL playoffs in 2026 saw Nylander score six goals and seven points in 24 Calder Cup games as the Marlies won the championship. The signature moment came in the Eastern Conference Final against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, a former club, when his overtime goal sent Toronto to the final for the first time since 2018.
The Flames are giving the first-round prospect from 2016 a chance to show what he can do. They are hoping that the Calder Cup run will see Nylander rebound into a possible everyday NHLer, as he had previously been projected to be.
A professional tryout is a type of contract teams can sign players to without any firm commitment beyond per diem and other expenses. At the same time, if a player is offered a standard player contract elsewhere, they are able to sign it immediately and end the PTO unilaterally.
The Flames missed the playoffs last season at 34-39-9. They need cheap offense and camp competition on the wing. It makes a a lot of sense.
But now the brothers are apart again after a couple of years together.
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