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“The playoffs were more disappointing. That was a tough one.’’

Usually of a perennially insouciant nature, a downcast Nylander spent much of the summer scraping that s—t right off his shoes (as the Rolling Stones put it) by tramping around Europe: “France, Italy, Ireland, Switzerland. It was good for me.’’

And here we are again, as the calendar turns on another training camp, preparing for his 11th season as a Leaf.

The distinctly different Willy Styles — he really does inhabit his own planet — is a gold-plated stud, not far behind Auston Matthews in the pecking order of scoring stars coming off his glossiest of seasons: 45 goals in 82 games, didn’t miss a beat or a shift.

With offence at a premium, filling the void from the departure of you-know-who, it will fall heavily on Nylander’s shoulders — hopefully a rejuvenated healthy Matthews, too — to assume that scoring and playmaking burden on a team which has a whole bunch of appended cogs but nobody of added brilliance value. The spotlight silhouette will be even more glaring for Toronto’s marquee players.

With his devil-may-care attitude and burnished mellowness, Nylander thrives in that environment.

“I’ll just keep doing my thing and whatever happens, happens,’’ he shrugs, standing in the sunshine outside the Ford Performance Centre following the team’s first scrimmage Saturday morning wearing a Post Malone T-shirt, baseball cap pulled down low.

While Nylander’s signature zigzag style of play, always on the sniff for a breakout chance — and laggard on the backcheck — has driven coaches nuts, he adapted quite nicely to Craig Berube’s north-south, defensively mindful reorientation of the Leafs last year: “I think it worked pretty well because I had a career year, right? I adjusted a little bit to his system, but mostly kept it to what I can do best out there.’’

Berube is at peace letting Willy be Willy. Why reinvent the Willy wheel?

“I thought that Willy, for the most part, does play a north-south game,’’ the coach observes. “Yeah, some guys, their brains are wired differently. He’s a highly skilled player — he’s always been that — and he’s always done certain things a certain way. That habit takes time to change. But for me, he bought in. Is he going to be perfect? No, he’s going to try things at times that maybe we don’t want him to. But you don’t want to take the stick right out of his hand, either.

“We need him to score goals and we need him to do the things that he does with his skill.’’

Most likely, Nylander will find himself back on a line with John Tavares, whose combative and physical approach is in complementary sync with the right winger.

“We’ve been able to find that chemistry between each other and build it up,’’ says Nylander.

Tavares: “I don’t think Willy’s individualistic. I think he’s a game-breaker. His drive to be a great player, to be a difference maker on a nightly basis, is as good as any player I’ve seen. As linemates, we’re not shy to get on each other and push each other.’’

In many respects, Nylander was built to be a Leaf in this pressure cooker of a hockey town. While some players — like you-know-who — curdled under that pressure, especially in the post-season, Nylander is the cool polar opposite. Among the few Leafs who’s risen to the post-season occasion, he led the team with six goals and nine assists in 13 playoff games last spring.

Lets the criticism roll right off, whether from fans or hardass coaches past. “That’s who I am,’’ he says. “And that’s important, playing here. Just want to have fun every day and keep it light, but at the same time be driven and focused on what you want to achieve. Make it the best of both worlds.’’

One area where Berube would like to see the 29-year-old take on more responsibility is in an influential capacity: “Willy can step up and take a little bit of a bigger leadership role.’’

What might that entail?

“Step it up in the dressing room, on the bench. Just the voice more than anything. And leading with playing the right way. That, for me, is leadership. Taking care of your teammates, helping them out in situations, maybe when they need a little kick in the ass.’’

Nylander counters that he has been doing just that: “I have been for a couple of years.’’

With you-know-who fleeing, there’s an assistant captaincy available, although the Leafs appear disinclined to invest another A (presently worn by Tavares and Morgan Rielly) on anybody else.

“We’re going to leave the A’s where they’re at right now,’’ says Berube.

Nylander claims not to crave it: “If they want to give it to me I’ll take it, but it’s not what I’m focused on. I’m going to be a leader in the locker room regardless of whether there’s an A on my jersey or not. It doesn’t matter to me.’’

C’mon, give him the A, coach.