Warriors’ Draymond Green pushing for Sharks to draft Macklin Celebrini

Macklin Celebrini already has a big-name fan in the Bay Area.

TORONTO — Oh, we’re not done.

We’re never done.

We’ll scribble about free agency and the draft and the new assistant coach and the late-summer PTO hopeful and all that.

But before we turn our immediate attention to the final teams contending for the Stanley Cup, let’s empty the ol’ Toronto Maple Leafs notebook.

Here are 57 stray observations on the team that was and what might be — one for every year since the parade.

1. The greatest and simplest argument for changing the Maple Leafs’ mix might be watching the second-round action and asking yourself, honestly: How would Toronto fare in this series?

Any of one of the four.

2. Sheldon Keefe would make a fine fit in New Jersey, if he wants the gig. There is zero sense that the Leafs players quit on their coach. And from a spotlight perspective, it’s all downhill from the mecca.

His stock shouldn’t drop — and his career .665 points percentage won’t change — if he elects to take time to decompress and be a dad.

The man is only 43 years old.

Among all active NHL bench bosses, only Spencer Carbery, 42, is younger than Keefe.

3. How concerning is it that Auston Matthews has now sustained multiple head injuries in his career — one in his sophomore season and another after a “weird hit” in Game 4 of the Bruins series?

Sidney Crosby is the posterboy for stuffing head injuries in the rearview and going on to thrive for years afterward. We’ll take it as a positive that Matthews got cleared to play Game 7 and set up a goal, despite looking something less than 100 per cent.

“Everybody’s is different,” Matthews said after recovering from his first concussion in December 2017. “It’s a physical sport. Stuff like that happens, and you’ve got to deal with it.”

4. Matthews has already captured his third Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy. He is a finalist for the Ted Lindsay, Selke and Lady Byng trophies … but not the Hart.

At this stage in his career, questions and answers about his individual accolades are about as enjoyable as a root canal.

“That stuff’s nice, but it’s not fulfilling. It’s not what I’m after,” Matthews said. 

“Everybody here is after one goal, and that’s to win. And so, I think all the other stuff is nice, but it’s not something that I’m necessarily chasing or after that makes me feel good.”

Matthews’ peers believe he was one of the top three “most outstanding” players this season — more outstanding than Connor McDavid.

The professional writers, however, deemed McDavid more “valuable to his team” than Matthews.

5. The look on Craig Berube’s face when Paul Bissonnette spills the tea …

6. The morning of Game 7, I asked Ryan Reaves about Jake McCabe: “I was talking about him the other day. He might be my favourite defenceman in the league. He does a little bit of everything. He’s got really good poise with the puck and breaks out well. He plays so physical. Blocks shots. He adds a little offence, too. He’s kind of like a unicorn in the league — just a guy who does everything really well.”

7. Keefe spoke to how much more comfortable McCabe was in 2024, both as an emerging leader on the team and having gotten his first taste of playoff competition in ’23.

“He really feels like a big part of our group now, which he certainly is. And with that, his leadership has really stepped up and his overall confidence has improved,” Keefe said.

McCabe ate tough matchups in both playoffs for the Leafs. In 2023, he was a minus-7. In 2024, he was even.

“He was very open with me, when the playoffs ended last year,