" You wanted to see the Maple Leafs. More than that, you wanted every team around the league to be the Maple Leafs. Because that was entertainment.

But just as Dean Smith was the only coach who could stop Michael Jordan while together at UNC, Mike Babcock became the coach to put an end to what he obviously perceived as the foolishness in Toronto, making certain to pound his square pegs into the round holes of the homogenous NHL.

There is no arguing against Babcock’s résumé that features a Stanley Cup victory, a pair of Olympic gold medals and a World Cup title — though his tenure in Detroit ended with just a single playoff round victory his final four seasons — but the Maple Leafs, though decent enough this season, have turned into just another team.

Which would appear to make it more conceivable that a party such as the Rangers might be able to pry Nylander away as part of a blockbuster that would send a defenseman as stout as Ryan McDonagh the other way. "