One For Three

One: Entering Saturday play, the Leafs are first overall after having swept a California road trip for the first time since I was in Grade 7. Without Matthews or Nylander. Is the universe ready for this? Two: Whether Steve Tanner likes it or not, 20 games in and Morgan Rielly would be the Norris Trophy winner as the NHL’s top defenceman if the season ended today. Twenty games a season does not make, but did anyone think this would even be a conversation piece? Three: Would anyone (especially the people who loudly decried the trading of DeMar DeRozan) *not* make the Kawhi Leonard trade if you had a do-over today?

One: Now that the Leafs are exploring the option of trading William Nylander, it's frikkin' mind boggling how all-over-the-map perceptions of his value are, at least in the fan community. Some feel he's worth the equivalent of a top-shelf defenceman. Others are suggesting Carolina could get him for Justin Faulk "and a prospect." There is no ideal one-for-one swap out there -- unless Boston were willing to deal Charlie McAvoy. But it's hard to imagine that for a whole bunch of reasons. Two: The betting here is that Leafs GM Kyle Dubas either re-signs Nylander by the December 1 deadline to a two-year bridge contract or he sits for the year. Three: Playing NHL on the Playstation over the weekend reminded me of how much fun it was to watch Billy Ny, the goal scoring guy, play on Auston Matthews' wing.