Let’s get this out of the way: If you’re mad about William Nylander flipping the camera off, you’re probably missing the point.

The gesture itself was harmless, even playful. Just another case of Willy being Willy.

What matters, though, is what it represented. From an optics standpoint, it’s a terrible look to see that from any player — never mind a star — in the middle of a blowout loss. On top of that, it came just a game after the Leafs no showed for the most anticipated game of the year as Mitch Marner waltzed into town, picked up no points, and skated off with an easy 6-3 victory.

The season’s slipping away. Read the room better, Willy.

Between Auston Matthews describing Mitch Marner’s homecoming game as “fun” and Nylander’s self-inflicted distraction, it was a disastrous weekend – PR wise – for the Maple Leafs.

Bottom line: Toronto’s in serious jeopardy of missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and nothing about the recent messaging from their two highest-paid players suggests that reality has truly sunk in. If anything, it comes off as indifference — spoiled, immature, entitled, even childish.

Not that Nylander needs to be sulking in the press box, but joking through it misses the magnitude of the situation entirely. After their brief hot streak, this team has come crashing back to reality. They should be feeling it. They should be miserable. Regardless of if they’re in the lineup or not.

In Nylander’s case, I’ll say this: whether the decision was his or not, he deserves credit for coming forward, owning the mistake, and apologizing publicly. Accountability is a beautiful thing. Frankly, I wish we saw a lot more of it from this organization and team.

Any way you slice it, there’s no reason for anyone to overreact to what Nylander did. It was a joke. It should be treated as such. But still, it’s very disappointing to see that from someone like him, especially with the team coming off whatever that was on Friday night.

The timing stunk.

William Nylander is so important to this team. He should be leading by example. Suffice it is to say, there were a few guys on the Colorado Avalanche to take notes from on Sunday afternoon. Be a pro. Act like a pro.

Would Nathan MacKinnon ever pull that kind of stunt? How about Sidney Crosby? Connor McDavid?

NOPE.