SAY WHAT: 'HE'S A REALLY GOOD PLAYER'

ON TARGETING TOFFOLI:

ON FAITH HE HAS IN HIS TEAM:

"No. 1, we've got a long way to go yet. But you do take your cues from your team. The players have done their job. It was time for me to do mine. Part of that is giving them some help. I think if you ask any player, they like their team and when you can give them some help, that's well received. Certainly, the way they've been playing and the way we've been playing, I felt it was good time to give them some help."

ON TIMING OF THE TRADE:

"I've never been a huge trade deadline guy. A lot of it, mostly on the rental market. But Burkie (Brian Burke) and I used to (say) it's like rush-hour traffic. It's five lanes merging into one the closer you get to it. If you can get out in front of it, that's a preference of mine. Now, it's got to make sense. There's pros and cons, right? In today's world where you look around the league and everybody's at the cap - where you see it now - years ago, there was more people (who) got out in the front of it. With the cap now, everybody's at the cap, so the longer you wait, the more you accrue. That's a piece of it. But we felt it was a player that we certainly targeted and the deal came together and we got it done."

ON WHAT TOFFOLI BRINGS:

"I expect him to come in and be a good player. That's what he's been his whole career. The goal-scoring gets talked about a lot and he's one of those guys that has that gift. Some people need four, five or six whacks - but what doesn't get talked enough about is his all-around game. He's one of those guys - to me he's a top-six forward in this league. On the team he's been on, he plays both wings. Plays the powerplay, touches both sides of special teams. You look at the data on him when you dig into it - the ability to drive play, shot volume and also shot suppression has been strong. Yes, he's made his living because he can shoot it in the net, but he does a lot more. That's what excites me. I expect him to come in and be a really good player. He's excited. He's excited about where our team's at he knows we have a lot of work ahead of us, but he's excited to get into a playoff race."

ON HIS INITIAL CONVERSATION WITH HIM:

"I've been chasing Tyler Toffoli going back to my days in Phoenix and his draft year. I remember interviewing him - we had dinner in his draft year back in Phoenix and it was quick. The life part takes over. He's spinning a little bit. The phone's buzzing. He's got a wife and a family and you've got to figure all that out. He's going to be on a plane tonight and he'll get in here today. We caught up quick. Told him we're excited to have him and we'll see him tonight."

ON FAMILIARITY IN THE ROOM:

"Darryl's had him, so he knows him. I think there's a benefit. Two things I would say to that. We try to get out in front of it and for a lot of reasons, most notably, if you look back at deadlines, there's a transition going to a new place. Giving us and giving Tyler, specifically, more time to adjust and integrate into our group is important. But it makes it more seamless when you know the coach and the coach knows you. There's not going to be a getting-to-know-you phase - it's going to be 'let's get going' right away. Certainly, Darryl's knowledge of the player was a factor in the sense that you knew... And as much as Darryl knows him, it's been a while ago. Kirk (Muller) had him last year in Montreal and then he's familiar with players, so I think the transition is going to be smooth."