With equal parts a marathon, sprint, concert tour and science experiment, the Maple Leafs begin their 2021 season Wednesday night against the Montreal Canadiens.
It’s already unusual in that the 2020 part of the schedule has been lopped off and there’ll only be a smattering of media in Scotiabank Arena to watch what’s usually an intense opener with plenty of pomp and ceremony. But a huge COVID-19 quarantined audience is expected to watch or listen on TV and the players themselves are just anxious to get going.
“It’s been enough time off for everyone, enough uncertainty,” declared Leafs alternate captain Morgan Rielly, who’ll have a new blueline partner in TJ Brodie this season. “We’re just happy to be back playing hockey. We’re pumped to get going against these guys tonight, we play them 10 times.
“We just want to get back into a routine, driving to the rink at the normal time. (Wednesday) will be a little different than years past, but we’re fortunate to be playing and be back in the building.”
This game heralds a 56-game schedule, beginning with three in four nights. It’s a primer for the all-Canadian seven-team North Division.
“Playing teams in Canada, eight, nine or 10 times, a crammed schedule with not a whole lot of practice, all the (health) protocols put in place, it’s going to be interesting,” Rielly said. “We’re curious to see what road trips are going to look like.
“Over time, we’ll get comfortable with it. Right now, it’s a little foreign.”
Head coach Sheldon Keefe made Wednesday morning an optional practice, a chance to talk the day through with some of the eight new players on the roster (41-year-old Joe Thornton was on the ice), then work with his healthy scratches and taxi squad.
Except don’t use the ‘T’ word around the staff.
“We’re not going with a taxi squad designation, it’s a ‘stay ready squad,’” Keefe insisted. “That speaks to the mindset that we need these (four to six extra) guys to have. They have to stay ready, continue to work and it falls on the coaching staff that we have to be ready to do our part to keep them ready.
Keefe said he got the ‘stay ready’ term from Canadian-born Steve Nash, coach of the NBA Brooklyn Nets.
“It’s a good mindset for us to have, particularly for a season like this.”
The Canadiens followed the Leafs on the ice Wednesday morning, after the usual NHL travel regimen of practising the day before at home and flying out Tuesday night. But unlike past regular seasons, there were no dinners or sight-seeing, the players staying tight around their hotel.
The Canadiens also have some new faces and renewed enthusiasm for the season and the Leafs don’t expect an easy ride.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2021
