I like this a lot. The guys are really good and it's really a welcome feeling and nice environment. It's a first class organization and everything's great with the coaching staff.

You go into a season expecting to contend for the Cup every year. We have a lot of positives on our team. We can't have any big letdowns in the season. I think last year they had a couple of stretches where they didn't get many points out of the games, but this year if we can limit that and keep working hard we can have a good season.

I threw my stick out and it bounced off it. It was a great shot by Richie, hard and on the net. It's his first game. If they see it, they see it and I'm not too worried. We got the win and that's what's important.

Making the run that we made, we're going into the season with a different attitude. We want to win our last game, that's the mindset here.

It was a black mark for hockey, but for a lot of guys, it was a blessing in disguise as they could rest up. There's quite a few guys in the NHL that really benefited from the lay-off. On our team, we had a deep playoff run and we had guys like Lombardi (concussion) who got banged up. That time off, it helps, and guys could physically and mentally recover.

The time I went there, they weren't near the team they are now, ... A different environment, completely different. A different team. A different head coach. The fans, probably their enthusiasm is about 10 times greater than it was that day.