William Nylander has been known to ride the subway to work.<\/p>\n
The Toronto Maple Leafs winger usually fades into the crowd on his way to Scotiabank Arena, the stylish Swede\u2019s slick and fashionable business attire blending in with thousands of office workers on similar daily trips beneath a bustling city above.<\/p>\n
Nylander will now have the option to defy convention on his commute.<\/p>\n
The NHL and NHL Players\u2019 Association have fast-tracked some elements agreed to in the new collective bargaining agreement set to begin ahead of next season \u2014 including a relaxed player dress code \u2014 some 12 months early.<\/p>\n
Generations of fans have watched NHL teams arrive at the rink in suits and ties. Other major sports like the NBA and NFL have long allowed athletes to don whatever styles or brands they like for pre-game attire.<\/p>\n
Hockey held out as long as it could. Times, however, have changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cGuys can wear whatever they want,\u201d Nylander said. \u201cWhat they feel comfortable wearing into games.\u201d<\/p>\n
And all options are now on the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not a planner,\u201d Nylander added with a grin. \u201cProbably (at) 4 p.m. before the game, I\u2019ll be figuring out what I\u2019m gonna wear.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carolina Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis said it will come down to the creativity of individuals.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople who are in touch with fashion and style, they\u2019ll do a really cool job,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t know where I\u2019m going to take it, but if they start letting sweats and sweaters into the rink, then I\u2019m gonna be all over that.\u201d<\/p>\n
New Jersey Devils centre Jack Hughes expects there will still be lots of classic threads \u2014 if only for one reason.<\/p>\n
\u201cGuys have probably spent so much money on suits,\u201d he said. \u201cSome guys have been playing 15 years. They probably have like 50 suits or something crazy. (But) that\u2019ll be great, just going to the rink and wearing whatever you want.\u201d<\/p>\n
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league didn\u2019t have a significant issue with relaxing the dress code for arena arrivals, but added that concerns were raised.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome clubs feel like they should have the ability to decide how players appear to the workplace dressed,\u201d he said. \u201cBut even with respect to those clubs \u2026 they understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
San Jose Sharks centre Macklin Celebrini said there are also traditionalists within the player pool.<\/p>\n
\u201cA bunch of guys don\u2019t love it,\u201d he said. \u201cThe NHL has always been the one (sport) that holds tight on the suit with the tie. Guys want to keep it that way \u2014 like, it\u2019s business, you\u2019re coming to work. But at the same time, it\u2019s good to show your style, if you have any.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you can still go with the suit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tampa Bay Lightning captain Viktor Hedman said it comes down to flexibility and freedom.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of fashionable guys in the league,\u201d added the defenceman. \u201cIf you like fashion, go ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n
Montreal Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault plans to mix things up depending on location.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably a suit at home and maybe on the road, something a little bit more comfy,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause of the travel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Calgary Flames netminder Dustin Wolf wore a sweater and black pants for his first pre-season game, but felt underdressed.<\/p>\n
\u201cTried something different,\u201d he said. \u201cI prefer a suit \u2026 I don\u2019t have the style points to pull too much off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wolf is eager, however, to see what sartorial-savvy teammates pull on before lacing up their skates.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou see other leagues like the NBA have guys come in wearing some interesting designs,\u201d he said. \u201cExcited to see who pulls off some interesting outfits.\u201d<\/p>\n
Buffalo Sabres centre Tage Thompson will keep his suits handy, but appreciates what the league and union are trying to do with a sport that continues to grow worldwide.<\/p>\n
\u201cAllows guys to express their personalities,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s something that fans are starving for \u2014 that behind-the-scenes look of not just you as an athlete, but as a person.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt should bring a little bit more attention and attraction to the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly \u2014 whose fashion-forward list of teammates, along with Nylander, includes Toronto captain Auston Matthews \u2014 expects most veterans to stay in their lane.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I start wearing stuff I\u2019ve never worn before, guys are gonna be like, \u2018What are we doing?\u2019\u201d he said with a grin. \u201cBut there\u2019s a few guys looking forward to it. As long as we look professional, I\u2019m good.\u201d<\/p>\n
And that works perfectly fine for Nylander.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome guys have fun with it, some guys just keep it simple, some guys might still wear suits,\u201d he said. \u201cLet guys express themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2025.<\/p>\n
Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n
With files from Daniel Rainbird in Montreal and Donna Spencer in Calgary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"William Nylander has been known to ride the subway to work. The Toronto Maple Leafs winger usually fades…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":185374,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[76,49,48,75,3717,448,82],"class_list":["post-185373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-arts","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment","tag-labour","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=185373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185373\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/185374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=185373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=185373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=185373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}