from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,

- With Connor McDavid in a world of his own, the conversation battle in hockey is to see who lines up after him as the second-best player in the game. Or the second most complete player. Auston Matthews, who is teammate Matthew Knies’ choice, would be in the conversation if he returns to the form of 2022. Others in the mix: Nathan MacKinnon, Leon Draisaitl, Cale Makar and still and always Sidney Crosby. After that, there’s a slight dropoff to Elias Pettersson, Jack Hughes, Mitch Marner, Matthew Tkachuk and David Pastrnak.

- The best defences, purely personal, in the Eastern Conference heading into a new season; 1. Carolina; 2. N.Y. Rangers; 3. Boston; 4. N.Y. Islanders; 5. Buffalo. After that, there’s a whole lot of mish-mash and let’s see what happens with Pittsburgh, Toronto, Florida, Tampa Bay, Ottawa and New Jersey.

- The Matthews contract, which will pay him more than any other NHL contract, almost seems like lunch money when compared to the deals just signed by quarterback Joe Burrow and defensive end Nick Bosa in the National Football League. Burrow will be paid $55 million a year by the Cincinnati Bengals. Bosa becomes the highest-paid defensive player in history, coming in at $34 million a year. Next year, Matthews will be paid $13.2 million by the Leafs.

a few more hockey notes