The Toronto Maple Leafs hit town Friday night for their first visit of the season and they will be bringing along an ultra-familiar face in center Tim Connolly, who joined the Sabres in a 2001 trade with the New York Islanders before finally leaving last summer via free agency.
Injuries and inconsistent play wore out Connolly's time here but it's no shock he's doing well in Toronto when healthy. He's been out twice already there but has six goals and nine assists in 18 games. What kind of reaction does Connolly expect here? He has a pretty good idea.
"It should be pretty interesting," Connolly told reporters Wednesday in Toronto. "They tend to boo their players when they come back."
Lindy Ruff reminded the media today that Connolly's injury in Game Six of the playoff series against Philadelphia -- when he took a hit from behind into the boards from Flyers captain Mike Richards -- really helped tipped the scale in the series toward the Flyers because it crippled the Buffalo special teams. The Sabres said it will be strange to see their longtime teammate in the sweater of perhaps their biggest rival.
"It was weird in preseason to look over there and see him in a Leafs jersey," said winger Thomas Vanek. "When Danny [Briere] left and then Dru [Chris Drury] and you saw a Flyers or Rangers jersey, that's definitely weird. But when you see someone in a Leafs jersey, that makes it even more awkward."
Here's part of Connolly's meeting with reporters Wednesday in Toronto.
---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)
tagged
ex-Sabres | Sabres
