from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,

- At the end of the 2017 NHL season, the Maple Leafs had 105 points and seemed on their way. That season, Carolina had 83 points, the Islanders 80, Vancouver 73, Calgary 84, Montreal 71: You can soundly argue today that all of those teams are more playoff competitive than the Leafs happen to be.

- Really, if I had a choice between the Canucks roster today and the Leafs roster, I’ll take the Canucks and that’s not just because Bo Horvat is playing Doug Gilmour-like in the playoffs. That’s a team that turned things around very quickly.

- A number of NHL general managers are expecting to play next season without fans in the stands and that will create some kind of chaos at the ownership level … It’s clear that having the best players doesn’t necessarily win at playoff time. Having the best team wins. And if you can’t compete on loose pucks and you can’t play without the puck, you won’t win.

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