from Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star,
“Teams know that the Maple Leafs are serious this year,” said centre Nazem Kadri. “We want to hang with the best, and we certainly believe we can do that.”
“We definitely had some good experiences and learned a lot of things, so hopefully we can channel that in the right way and go from there,” van Riemsdyk said. “Everyone starts in the same point, so it doesn’t matter how much buzz or hype or positivity you have around your group: you have to go out there and prove it on the ice every night, and hopefully we’re ready for that.”
“I usually used to say, if you’re (still) playing on my birthday (on April 29), you’ve had a good year, that means you’re starting the third round,” coach Mike Babcock said. “I haven’t seen a third round since I can’t remember how long. I miss you media guys so much, we’re going to play longer this spring.”
Leaving aside that if you were playing on April 29 last year, you were still early in the second round, Babcock tends to share the cockiness that Kadri carries around. After winning the World Cup of Hockey here last year, Babcock exited his press conference by saying, “This is just a sign of what’s going to happen here in Toronto, just so you know.”
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