Injury-Plagued Rookie Year: Although Nylund's luck in the NHL wasn't quite as bad as that of 1982 No. 1 pick Gord Kluzak, it wasn't much better. Like Kluzak, Nylund would spend much of his early NHL career out of the lineup with injuries. Unlike Kluzak, however, Nylund had never suffered a major injury prior to entering the NHL. The trouble began right away, as he missed the start of the 1982-83 season with a torn ACL in his left knee, an injury suffered when he was checked by Wilf Paiement in the offensive zone during Toronto's Sept. 27, 1982, preseason game vs. Quebec. The injury required surgery on Oct. 6, 1982, and Nylund returned home to British Columbia, to recuperate from the surgery and begin his rehabilitation. Three months later, in January 1983, Nylund was ready to skate again. Because Nylund still had major-junior eligibility remaining, he could not be sent to the minor leagues for an injury rehab stint before entering the NHL. Toronto wanted him to have pro experience rather than return him to junior, so he suffered through the injury-plagued rookie season while on the Maple Leafs roster. Wearing a special knee brace, he finally made his NHL debut on Feb. 6, 1983, and would play only 16 games for Toronto in the 1982-83 season. His brief season ended with another tear of the ACL in his left knee. He suffered the injury during Toronto's March 12, 1983, game vs. Chicago. The injury required surgery, and he did not begin his 1983-84 season until Toronto's Dec. 23, 1983, game at Detroit. He scored a goal in that first game back, played all of the remaining 47 games that season and had no other major problems with his left knee for the remainder of his career. He did, however, later suffer injuries to his right knee. Ironically, it was a final injury to his right knee, suffered during the 1992-93 season, that ended his career.
