Regardless of whether he did so because the Toronto Maple Leafs are in the Connor McDavid sweepstakes or not, the Toronto Sun's Steve Simmons penned a lovely article about Connor McDavid and Erie Otters owner Sherry Bassin, and it's a plain old superb read about a young man and a hockey owner who doesn't treat "the franchise" like a simple commodity:

“He’s great guy and I love listening to him,” McDavid, an NHL superstar in waiting, said of his general manager and pal. “I think we’ll be friends (for a long time). When he talks, people listen. He has that effect. He’s a great speaker. Any time he gets in front of an audience, he gives a pretty good speech. It’s always something you take away and remember for a while.

“I’m very lucky to have him around ... He’s been through it all and he has no bias,” said McDavid. “He’ll tell you straight how it is. It’s one of the things I love about him.”

When McDavid broke his hand in an ill-advised fight in November, the entire hockey world stopped to ponder what it all meant. But no one thought about the mishap more than the kid himself. He saw his dream season, his world juniors possibility, his matchup with Jack Eichel crumbling away in a hospital room. It was a terrible time.

“When he got hurt,” said Bassin, “I got hurt. When the doctor came in, and it didn’t look good at first, he was sitting on the hospital bed, slumped over, and he was looking so sad that I just went over and put my arms around him and I hugged him and I said ‘I love you, you’re going to be OK. This is going to be OK.’

“It was pretty emotional for all of us,” he added. “His dad was sitting right there and everybody got choked up. I think that sealed the special bond we have.”

Simmons continues...