Leafs lose first game of pre-season

Sens dump Leafs in pre-season
Brandon Bochenski scored a goal and added an assist as Ottawa Senators
beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 in the NHL exhibition opener for both
teams. Andrej Meszaros, Mike Fisher, Jason Spezza and Daniel
Alfredsson also scored for the Sens.

Matt Stajan Ready to join NHL and Toronto Maple Leafs

TORONTO (CP) - Matt Stajan feels he's come a long way since he was
last seen skating with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a 19-year-old rookie
few ever thought would crack the team in 2003-04.

For starters, the talented forward won't be living at home with mom
and dad in Mississauga, Ont., this season. He's bought a condo in
downtown Toronto and will live alone.

"But maybe a few times a week I'll head home for a few home-cooked
meals," he said Thursday at Leafs camp. "It's always good to have that
there. My mom and dad don' t ever mind when I come home."

The new condo is actually still under construction but he'll rent a
place downtown in the meantime. He got used to life away from home
last year in St. John's when the NHL lockout forced him to play AHL
hockey on The Rock.

"I felt like I developed as a player and moreso I grew off the ice,"
he said. "I learned how to handle myself away from the rink on my own.

"Getting a chance to live out there on my own, that was important," he added.

He was commuting from mom and dad's place two Septembers ago when
Stajan surprised many and made the team out of camp. He ended up with
14 goals and 13 assists in 69 games with a plus-7 rating -- pretty
impressive for a youngster with limited ice time on a veteran-laden
team.

"It was a dream season for me two years ago, everything seemed to get
better and better," said Stajan, now 21. "And then the lockout came
and that was a bit of a downer."

The money certainly wasn't the same. He gets $805,600 US to play in
the NHL this season and $75,000 if he's in the AHL.

On the flip side, he got the kind of ice time in St. John's he could
only dream of in Toronto.

"I got to develop a lot," said Stajan, who had 66 points (23-43) in 80
regular-season games. "I experienced a lot of different situations. I
played power play, penalty kill, the last few minutes of the period --
I wouldn't have had that opportunity in Toronto.

"So I was fortunate to have that last year while everybody else was
sitting at home."

Head coach Pat Quinn saw two versions of Matt Stajan last year in the
AHL and certainly hopes the second one shows up this fall.

"I think last year was a great lesson for him, from a struggling start
at the American League level, to one where by playoff time I thought
he had really, really come along," said Quinn. "I liked how he played.
There were a lot of guys I didn't like how they played in that first
round of the playoffs, but I thought Matt played really well and I
think that's a good lesson for him to carry on with him.

The areas he showed he was better at were the areas he needed to be
better at. Hopefully, that's going to carry on and I like what I see
in camp."

Stajan is determined to bring that game with him this season.

"I want to contribute even more than I did two years ago," he said.

And that's what the Leafs are counting on.

"It's a big year for Matt,'' Leafs GM John Ferguson said Thursday.
"I've liked his good effort level so far in camp, good energy, good
speed. He's a guy we're counting on to come in and not only make the
club but contribute and take the next step in his career."

Where Stajan plays on the Leafs this season isn't exactly clear. The
team loaded up at centre with the additions of Jason Allison and Eric
Lindros, joining captain Mats Sundin in a formidable threesome down
the middle. Stajan can play both wing and centre, as he did in
2003-04.

"I'll play pretty much anywhere," Stajan said. "If it's fourth-line
centre, that's fine. If it's winger on any of the lines, I'll do that
too. I'm happy to have played both positions growing up in my career
and hopefully it'll help me in the long run.''

Darcy Tucker turning a new leaf

The Toronto forward is a legitimate candidate to play alongside Mats
Sundin on the Leafs top line.

Sportsnet.ca -- Darcy Tucker says there's a whole new side to him that
fans haven't seen before, and it boils down to one main thing:
maturity.

"I think it's just the more seasons you play in the NHL and the older
you get, the more mature you become," explained the 30-year-old
Tucker.

Known as a "gritty" or "scrappy" player, the Maple Leafs forward said
that those have been good words to describe him in the past, but he
hopes that "much higher skill level than was thought" will soon go
along with it.

Tucker also expects his new approach to the game to translate into the
dressing room, where he'll need to take on more of a leadership role
on a team that has many new faces. "That's not necessarily my
personality," he admitted. "But if something needs to be said, I'm not
shy to do it."
The player who has never been shy on the ice has generated a lot of
fan support over the years by the passion in which he plays the game.
He emphasized that same passion will be complemented by his new
attitude, something others shouldn't have difficulty relating to.

"I grew up on a farm in the middle of Alberta," said Tucker. "I'm
nothing anybody else can't beat. I came a long way to the NHL."

He is now a legitimate candidate to play alongside Mats Sundin on the
Leafs top line, a consideration Tucker believes he deserves.

"I think I have more talent than people give me credit for, and I'm
willing to show that.

"Hopefully, moving forward I can continue to be a fan favourite, and
help the hockey club in different ways."

In Maple Leaf notes, the team cut four players on Friday. Defencemen
Pat Sutton and Drew Kivell were dropped from the roster, along with
forwards Derek Leblanc and Brent Aubin.

Meanwhile, a bruised heel kept Ken Klee out of the morning's
scrimmage. Klee said he's fine but wanted to stay off the ice just as
a precaution.

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