from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,

- When I put together my Top 100 NHL players of all-time list in 2016, I had Sidney Crosby at No. 10. That was before he won his third Stanley Cup in Pittsburgh and about 300 or some points ago. The top four all-time are automatic in whatever order you choose: Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe and Mario Lemieux. There’s no catching them. Five is open now for Rocket Richard, Jean Beliveau, Bobby Hull, Doug Harvey and, yes, Crosby would now fit in nicely there as well.

- The only player with more points than Crosby in his NHL years is Alexander Ovechkin. And because of Crosby’s injuries, Ovechkin has played 163 more games and has managed only 17 more points than Sid The Kid. Ovechkin, as a top 10 selection, is a great conversation piece alongside Hull and Guy Lafleur.

- While goal scoring is way down in hockey, unless you hang around Matthews, the great Mike Bossy believes it may actually be easier for gifted players to score than ever before. “You don’t see the cross checking we used to face,” said Bossy. “You don’t see the hooking and the holding around the net. There’s not much hitting in front of the net. I know the goalies are better and bigger and the equipment is bigger. But I think there’s a lot of room out there that doesn’t get talked about.”

- The best young defenceman nobody talks about: Adam Fox of the New York Rangers.

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