William Nylander was still in Europe at this point last fall, nearly two months away from returning to the Maple Leafs. Most days, he would skate and work out by himself, waiting, wishing and hoping that his contract dispute would get resolved.



Even when he came back in early December, Nylander was never really himself. Mike Babcock never thought so, anyway.



“Nope,” the Leafs coach said on a Wednesday afternoon conference call. “Never.”



Well, he’s back now. Babcock thought Nylander’s 16-minute, four-shot, one-goal performance on Monday against the Blues was one of his best. “His most physical game, his most tenacity, on the puck, making plays, but going to get the puck for himself so he could have it more.”



“We never saw that last year,” Babcock concluded.



Babcock has been wowed repeatedly by the Nylander he’s seen this fall. After one preseason game against Buffalo, he...