Maple Leafs News: Reason For William Nylander's Absence Revealed

The mystery and frustration surrounding the status of Toronto Maple Leafs star forward William Nylander has grown by the day since the playoffs began. Now, insider Elliotte Friedman has revealed, through his sources, that the reason for Nylander's absence has been "a migraine so severe that team doctors tested to see if he suffered a concussion."

One of the reasons for the secrecy around his situation is that an actual diagnosis has been hard to come by, whether it is a migraine, a concussion or something else that could affect that area.

Speculation had run rampant as to what caused his absence through the first three games of the Leafs' opening-round series with the Boston Bruins, which the Buds now trail two games to one.

Nylander, who just completed his second straight 40-goal season, apparently woke up on Thursday with the problem, the day after the completion of the regular season.

The 98-point-man has been skating during optional skates with Leaf rookies and scratches for several days now, but apparently was not at the point of a return to the lineup, at least by last night's game. According to Friedman, however, there is "hope" that Nylander could return for Game 4 on Saturday at Scotiabank Arena, which is now a must-win for Toronto.

The Swedish star winger hadn't missed a game due to injury in over seven years heading into these playoffs.