from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,

- How does Kyle Dubas explain Brayden Point to Maple Leaf fans? Point signed last summer in Tampa for three years and a cap hit of $6.75 million. Over the past two summers, Dubas signed Mitch Marner for $10.8 a year and the veteran John Tavares for $11 a year for longer term. It’s not much of a debate now: Point is a better player than either Tavares or Marner.

- This is when you know you’ve jumped from star to superstar: When you’re Nathan MacKinnon and have 20 points in 11 playoff games with Colorado. MacKinnon has never scored 100 points in an NHL season. But he’s scored at 111-point pace in 36 playoff games for the Avalanche and at 149-point pace this playoff season.

- I find it amusing that analysts were calling the Leafs winners for how they made out in the Kasperi Kapanen deal with Pittsburgh. They may well be winners in time, but until you know who they draft with the first pick they got from Jimmy Rutherford, how that player turns out, whether they trade the pick, and how they use the $3.5 million they freed up by moving Kapanen, you can’t assign a winner. If the Leafs spend the money on a Cody Ceci-type player and draft a Timothy Liljegren, it’s a loss. If they spend the money wisely and draft Nick Robertson, it’s a win.

more