The Maple Leafs practised at the Ford Performance Centre on Thursday before travelling to Arizona to begin a team-bonding trip. The team\u2019s next practice in Toronto will be on Monday. <\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Auston Matthews<\/a> was \u201cpretty excited\u201d to find out the Leafs planned to switch the site of their annual team-bonding trip from Muskoka to Arizona. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a lot of fun,\u201d the 29-year-old centre from Scottsdale, Ariz. said before heading to the airport on Thursday. \u201cI think the guys are excited. I feel like the bar\u2019s been set pretty high, so hopefully we\u2019ll be able to meet it.\u201d<\/p>\n The Leafs wanted to try something new this year and it\u2019s obvious why they\u2019re willing to make the journey to the Valley of the Sun. <\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that we\u2019re heading all the way to Arizona, you might say, \u2018[Why] so far?\u2019\u201d head coach Jim Hiller said. \u201cOur captain lives there and I know he\u2019s got some plans for the guys and the weather\u2019s pretty good (sunny with a high of 34 degrees on Friday). So, we\u2019ll take it. We\u2019ll enjoy it and we\u2019ll take the positives that come with it.\u201d<\/p>\n Matthews will host the players at his place during the trip. <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s got a good setup,\u201d noted Phoenix native Matthew Knies<\/a>. \u201cHe\u2019s got a little sport court and everything so get the games going and, yeah, just watching TV with the guys and enjoy it. This is a pretty unique opportunity for us to kind of get close to each other, form some camaraderie. It\u2019s short, but it\u2019s good momentum for the season.\u201d<\/p>\n Hiller stressed they are not sacrificing any on-ice time due to the trip. The team will hold a practice at Mullett Arena in Tempe on Saturday before heading home to Toronto that evening.<\/p>\n No one around the Leafs seems overly concerned about dealing with long flights and a time change only days before things get going for real. <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s still going to be time to get back and get adjusted here and ready for the regular season,\u201d said Knies. <\/p>\n Toronto opens the regular season with consecutive home games on Tuesday against the Montreal Canadiens<\/a> and Wednesday against the New York Islanders<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s definitely some time between now and the first game,\u201d Matthews said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m definitely not complaining that it\u2019s in my hometown.\u201d<\/p>\n ‘Our captain lives there’: Matthews appreciates Leafs going to Arizona for bonding trip\u00a0 With the preseason game schedule concluded for the Maple Leafs, the team will be heading out on a bonding trip in Scottsdale, Arizona, hometown of captain Auston Matthews. Both Matthews and fellow Arizona native Matthew Knies are excited to go back home for a visit, with Auston planning on hosting the team at his home. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Third-line centre Nick Paul did not take part in practice after leaving Wednesday\u2019s game with an undisclosed issue. <\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s nothing I think that we\u2019re overly concerned about, but we have to take it day by day,\u201d Hiller said. \u201cThat\u2019s what I would leave it with.\u201d<\/p>\n Will Paul be ready for the season opener? <\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t say that,\u201d Hiller acknowledged. \u201cI can\u2019t say that with certainty.\u201d<\/p>\n Acquired in a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning<\/a>, Paul is quickly emerging as a popular figure in the dressing room. <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s great,\u201d said Matthews. \u201cWe\u2019ve obviously been playing in the same division for a long time, and he\u2019s always really hard to play against. And you can just tell he\u2019s such a team-first guy and just a competitor. He just goes out there and he does his job. He works extremely hard and keeps things light and keeps things fun as well. But definitely a guy that you really enjoy having on your side.\u201d<\/p>\n Colton Sissons<\/a> moved to centre at practice with Bo Groulx<\/a> joining the third line. <\/p>\n Leafs Ice Chips: Paul’s status for opener uncertain; Groulx skates on third line Nick Paul played just under five minutes in Toronto’s preseason finale, and didn’t skate with the team Thursday at practice, which has the team unsure if he will be available for the Maple Leafs’ season opener. <\/p>\n — <\/p>\n Following Wednesday\u2019s game, Hiller described Knies\u2019 performance during the pre-season as \u201cOK.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s more there, for sure,\u201d the coach concluded. <\/p>\n Knies did not hit the scoresheet in his two exhibition outings and generated just two shots on net despite playing on the top line with Matthews and Jack Roslovic. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been fine,\u201d the 23-year-old winger said of his training camp. \u201cI think my game kind of excels when there\u2019s a lot more predictability and a lot more north-south play and, you know, playing simple, playing hard, and I think that\u2019s kind of what you find in a regular season. So, yeah, I\u2019m just trying to get my feet under me, get good puck touches, make good plays, and hopefully in the regular season, you know, I can kind of keep to my game and just play to my strengths.\u201d<\/p>\n Hiller spoke with Knies on the ice before practice began and struck a more positive tone with reporters when asked about the chat. <\/p>\n \u201cWe watched video before the practice started, and he was in most of the positive clips,\u201d Hiller noted. \u201cAnd it was some of the stuff we talked about, skating back, lifting sticks, winning puck battles. So those types of plays, sometimes you get rewarded on the scoresheet with those, but sometimes you just don\u2019t, and he led our team in those plays and those areas last night. So just let him know that that was a positive game for him and he can build on that.\u201d<\/p>\n Toronto\u2019s top line bounced back after a quiet opening pre-season game with Matthews and Roslovic both scoring during the 6-1 win over the Ottawa Senators<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cI thought the last game was obviously much better for us as far as just creating more offence and sustaining more offence,\u201d Matthews said. \u201cAnd just want to keep trending in that direction and continue to get better and all that.\u201d<\/p>\n Roslovic\u2019s goal on Wednesday came on the power play. <\/p>\n Knies is hoping to earn his way back onto the top power-play unit. He spent most of last season as the net-front presence with that group, but was bumped to the second group by Roslovic\u2019s arrival. <\/p>\n \u201cI mean, I think every time I\u2019ve been here, you know, I\u2019ve kind of been on both [units],\u201d Knies noted. \u201cI think we have a pretty darn good second unit with those guys. So, yeah, just try and stay prepared, play to my strengths, play around the net, try and create things and hope I can earn my way onto the first one. But, you know, I think, again, our second one is pretty lethal.\u201d<\/p>\n The second unit features Morgan Rielly<\/a>, Easton Cowan<\/a>, Paul, Gavin McKenna<\/a> and Knies. <\/p>\n Knies calls camp performance ‘fine’; hopes to earn way back onto Leafs top PP unit\u00a0 Matthews Knies has played much of camp alongside Auston Matthews, but hasn’t seen much time on Toronto’s top power play unit. Not concerned with his preseason, Knies says that the style of the regular season fits more to the way he plays, and is confident he will continue to get better. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n After Paul exited the game, there were some different line combinations on Wednesday night and McKenna got a couple shifts in Knies\u2019 spot beside Matthews. <\/p>\n \u201cIt was good,\u201d the rookie sensation said. \u201cWe had a good couple shifts together and one ended up in the back of the net. So, yeah, he played unbelievable, I think we all saw. And, yeah, to be out there with him, you\u2019re always kind of looking for him in a spot so he can let his shot go. I think he was looking for me out there as well. So I had a lot of fun playing out there.\u201d<\/p>\n The feeling was mutual. <\/p>\n \u201cYeah, it felt good,\u201d Matthews said. \u201cI mean, the few shifts we had together, we had the puck a lot and making things happen in the offensive zone.\u201d <\/p>\n McKenna finished the night with one assist and a plus-three rating. <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s just a really, really smart player,\u201d Matthews said. \u201cI mean, there\u2019s times where he has the puck and he does stuff with it that not many people can do, but then there\u2019s also times where he just makes the right simple play and it ends up creating so much space for the other guy … His IQ is extremely high.\u201d<\/p>\n Matthews and McKenna feel instant chemistry in shifts together in Leafs preseason finale In their preseason finale, first overall pick Gavin McKenna saw some ice-time alongside Auston Matthews. McKenna and Matthews both felt that they had instant chemistry, looking for each other on the ice. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n The Leafs placed Steven Lorentz<\/a> on waivers on Thursday. Zack MacEwen<\/a>, who had a goal and a fight in Wednesday\u2019s game, skated in his spot on the fourth line at practice.<\/p>\n \u201cWe like the physicality,\u201d Hiller said. \u201cI mean, I know he scored last night, but I think what was equally or probably more important to us was, you know, there was some stuff going on, and he was able to get in there fairly quickly and do his job.\u201d<\/p>\n When Ottawa\u2019s Hayden Hodgson<\/a> went after Toronto defenceman Jake McCabe<\/a> near the end of the game, MacEwen jumped in immediately. <\/p>\n \u201cMac did an awesome job,\u201d McCabe praised. \u201cScored a goal. Blocked a shot, got up in the rush and [Cowan] makes a great play to him. It\u2019s nice to see players like Mac get rewarded. A big fight, stick up for his teammates \u2026 unbelievable night.\u201d<\/p>\n MacEwen, who sustained an ACL tear and was limited to three games with the New Jersey Devils<\/a> last season, signed a two-year deal ($875,000 cap hit) with the Leafs in the summer. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Defenceman Nick Blankenburg<\/a>, who is at camp on a pro tryout, continues to skate with Toronto\u2019s main group and is attending the team-bonding trip. All signs point to the 28-year-old signing a contract soon. <\/p>\n \u201cWell, I mean, he\u2019s an NHL defenceman,\u201d Hiller said. \u201cWe know that. So we were fortunate that he was able to get over here and come to our camp.\u201d<\/p>\n Blankenburg produced 24 points in 61 games last season split between the Nashville Predators<\/a> and Colorado Avalanche<\/a>. He scored one goal in five playoff games with the Avalanche. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n