Days after their quarterfinal loss to the United States [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/auston-matthews-and-usa-eliminate-maple-leafs-teammates-william-nylander-and-oliver-ekman-larsson-to-advance-to-2026-olympics-semifinals] in the 2026 Winter Olympics, William Nylander and Oliver Ekman-Larsson are back in Toronto. The two players represented Team Sweden at the 2026 Winter Games in Milan, Italy. Nylander played in every match for his country, tallying two goals and two assists [https://www.iihf.com/pdf/991/ihm9910swe_83_7_1] in five games. Meanwhile, Ekman-Larsson skated in four of Sweden's five games (he was in the lineup for the first game, but sat on the bench for the entirety), averaging 10:27 of ice time. Sweden fell to Auston Matthews and Team USA in overtime on Wednesday, 2-1. Despite both players being back in the city, they have yet to return to Toronto Maple Leafs [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs] practice. Though he didn't mention who, Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said one player could skate on Sunday. Berube is certain [https://x.com/nickbarden/status/2025269314895458547?s=20] both players will be on the ice on Monday (the team's off day) and Tuesday. "Maybe one of them will (skate on Sunday) because he feels like he wants to," Berube said. "But they're going to skate Monday and Tuesday, that is a fact." Following Sweden's defeat to the United States, Nylander posted a carousel of images [https://www.instagram.com/williamnylander/?hl=en] from the Olympics to his Instagram. In the caption, he described how disappointing it was not to advance further and that he's already preparing for the 2030 Olympics. "The greatest honor to wear this shirt in an Olympics💙💛, but this hurts me incredibly much," Nylander said, via translation, "but the charging has already started until the next one." William Nylander on Instagram: "största äran att dra på sig denna tröja dessutom i ett OS💙💛men den här svider otroligt mycket för mig men laddning har redan börjat tills nästa" [https://scontent-sof1-2.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/640412996_18562446784004440_2454867093304906056_n.jpg?stp=c288.0.864.864a_dst-jpg_e35_s640x640_tt6&_nc_cat=1&ccb=7-5&_nc_sid=18de74&efg=eyJlZmdfdGFnIjoiQ0FST1VTRUxfSVRFTS5iZXN0X2ltYWdlX3VybGdlbi5DMyJ9&_nc_ohc=E43d6zOrR9MQ7kNvwGSrmGj&_nc_oc=Adkzcd0bS1G8Bchc8MwbQfQ2xxgIbi2K38g18ua6Isu-1TVtu557v76fJksZZCYksd172gSXZ1DXuHNTZVqdSkVm&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-sof1-2.cdninstagram.com&_nc_gid=BjdHTNdtYI464Lh644cTIw&oh=00_AfuTmO3mePc4zOlK5sO74LeTVgK2YGJKkWhHMWwDLc7Ijw&oe=699FC977] William Nylander on Instagram: "största äran att dra på sig denna tröja dessutom i ett OS💙💛men den här svider otroligt mycket för mig men laddning har redan börjat tills nästa" 51K likes, 284 comments - williamnylander on February 20, 2026: "största äran att dra på sig denna tröja dessutom i ett OS💙💛men den här svider otroligt mycket för mig men laddning har redan börjat tills nästa". [https://www.instagram.com/williamnylander/p/DVAFmwTjeU6/?hl=en&img_index=4] Matthews and the United States [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/maple-leafs-auston-matthews-faces-ultimate-legacy-test-as-usa-takes-on-canada-in-2026-olympic-hockey-gold-medal-game] take on Team Canada in the gold medal game, which goes down on Sunday morning. It'll be bright and early for the Maple Leafs here in Toronto, but they'll be watching it together inside Ford Performance Centre. "Guys will come in early. We're going to have a later practice, just so we can finish watching the game," Berube added. "Guys will be all in (the dressing room), huddled around watching the game. "And we'll wait until it's over and then hit the ice." The Maple Leafs return to game action with back-to-back games in Florida: against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday and the Florida Panthers on Thursday. It'll be two big divisional games, which could help dictate what the team does at the trade deadline.
