One of the nice things about covering a Mike Babcock team is he often shows his hand. In a useful way.



While some NHL coaches play games with the media, answering questions with half-truths and misdirection, Babcock usually doesn’t care about doing that dance.



You may not agree with him, but we get insight into his way of thinking all the time.



During the Maple Leafs’ trip through the Western Conference last week, Babcock was asked about his lines and if he was being tempted by the idea of eventually getting William Nylander back with Auston Matthews.



Those two had a ton of success in their first two NHL seasons together, so it was a natural line of questioning from Chris Johnston.



“No. Not yet,” Babcock said. “I tried that early, if you remember – we tried putting the line back together. They weren’t ready to go. When everybody’s up and running, that might happen. But until I see...