from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,

- The contract Ryan Ellis signed with Nashville – eight years, $6 million a year – is the kind of money Jake Gardiner can expect in his next contract, either from the Leafs or from another NHL team. Gardiner is no Ellis – but he’s just a step and some sense behind.

- Brendan Shanahan doesn’t understand any talk about Auston Matthews being bothered by the signing of John Tavares or the logic attached to it. When Shanahan played for Detroit, the Red Wings signed Brett Hull. He welcomed the signing. It made his life easier.

- Amazing how challenging it is to make a list projecting the Top 50 players in the NHL for the coming season. I’m at 50 and am having difficulty finding places for excellent players such as Marc-Andre Fleury, Mark Stone, Nylander, Torey Krug, Logan Couture, Braden Holtby, Vincent Trocheck and Filip Forsberg. I’m still playing with the list, but this is a tough assignment … Picking one and two is easy – it’s either Sidney Crosby or Connor McDavid. After that, everything’s an argument. And a hard one: Where you do put Erik Karlsson this season? Which Erik Karlsson? And for what team?

a few more hockey blurbs...