SAY WHAT: 'WE WERE GREAT FRIENDS. STILL ARE'

MARK GIORDANO ON RETURN OF TJ BRODIE:

ON BRODIE'S IMPACT AS A FLAME:

"He's a quiet guy, but you know what? On the plane, in the room, on the bus, he's engaged in conversations. I had a lot of good chats with Brodes over the years."

GEOFF WARD ON COACHING BRODIE:

"He was a really good man and a really good player. Toronto got better when they signed him. He was a welcomed addition to our team and although he was quiet, when he said something in our room, it carried weight. He was a big part of our leadership group and it really grew even bigger when Gio was injured for a while there. If you watch Toronto play now, he's a big part of what they do."

ON FACING THE LEAFS:

"They're a good hockey team. They're a formidable opponent. They're well-schooled in all areas of the game and have a good mix of skill, veteran savvy and sandpaper. … There are no weaknesses there. We're going to have to be at our best to have success."

ON RETURNING FROM THE BREAK:

"We had a good week. It was productive for us and now we're looking forward to playing games again."

ON VALUE OF THE EXTRA PRACTICE TIME:

"There are going to be an awful lot of games coming up for us, so whatever we've lost, we'll play enough, get right back on the wagon and get going. We needed this time. We talked about it a lot, with all the new people in our lineup, it was timely for us. But we'll wait and see. Until that first game happens, you don't know if you're going to come out good or come out flat. Time will tell, but we feel it was a good week for us."

GIORDANO ON WHAT WAS COVERED THIS WEEK:

"We used these five days well. We had some rest, we had some practice, we went over special teams - we covered everything, and now we're ready to go. There are going to be games every other night now and as players, we love that sort of thing. We love getting into that rhythm."

ELIAS LINDHOLM ON WHERE TEAM'S GAME IS AT:

"Overall, it feels pretty good without having any exhibition games. Our team took a lot of pride in the camp here and really took those scrimmages as exhibition games. A couple games in, I think we look pretty good. Except for a period or two in Winnipeg and the first period last game, I think we look pretty solid."