A big hit

Getting hit never felt so good!

Matthew Lombardi, the erstwhile centre/left winger for the Toronto Maple Leafs has been dreaming about getting drilled for a little while now. Gradually, over the last seven days, he has increased his physical play in hopes of soon being cleared to getting into a little pre-season action.

Lombardi suffered a serious concussion two games into last season as a member of the Nashville Predators and hasn't played since. That was Oct. 13 against the Anaheim Ducks. Since then his career has been on hold.

So little wonder he was happy to be bouncing off teammates - new teammates - Monday morning at MasterCard Centre.

"I actually started making contact last week during 5-on-5 coverage drills," Lombardi said. "Without forcing it you get bumped along the way and that gives you confidence. It's just a matter of confidence. You get that first (hit) in and you go from there."

Lombardi went full speed through drills Monday. If you haven't had the pleasure of watching him skate at full speed, you don't know what you are missing. This 29-year-old from Montreal is one of the fastest players to have ever skated in the NHL. So fast, in fact, it has been said his hands had a hard time keeping up with his feet. A third round pick (90th overall) of the Calgary Flames in 2002, Lombardi had a great first NHL season with the Flames in 2003-04 scoring 16 goals and 29 points in 79 games.

Injuries have bashed him along the way and outside of a 20-goal, 46-point season in '05-06, he never really developed into the frontline forward the Flames envisioned. That all changed upon a trade to Phoenix where he played 19 games with the Coyotes in 2008-09 scoring five goals and 16 points. He followed that up with his best NHL season scoring 19 goals and 53 points in '09-10 before signing as a free agent with Nashville.

His time with the Predators was sort of like a sad country song. Two games - kaboom! - goodbye. When Toronto came knocking about acquiring defenceman Cory Franson, Lombardi was lumped into the deal.

It's a bit of a crap shoot; call it a calculated risk, taking on a player with two years and $7 million remaining on his contract, but if Lombardi returns to form he'll beef up the Leafs second or third line. And, the guy can kill penalties. Toronto's penalty kill, in case you have been away from the planet for a few years, has been woeful.

"He's kind of a pain in the butt to play against; especially when we were on the powerplay and he was on the penalty kill," said defenceman John-Michael Liles, who faced Lombardi often as a member of the Colorado Avalanche playing in the Western Conference. "I tend to pride myself on my skating and it felt like I wasn't even moving when he was out there checking me. He's a smart player who uses his legs well. He's tough to play against; not in the sense that he's running you, but he's always in your back pocket making good reads and good plays.

"One of the strengths in his game is penalty killing. As far as how our penalty kill unfolds, that's obviously not up to me, but I think he's a guy who can definitely help a team's penalty kill for sure."

Lombardi is anxious to get into game action, but he's not about to rush things. The Maple Leafs play in Ottawa Tuesday night and then in Detroit Friday before hosting the Red Wings Saturday night at the ACC.

"Things keep progressing real well," Lombardi said. "My conditioning is getting better and I'm getting some contact in. We'll see how I feel a little bit later on, but things feel pretty good right now. With upping the intensity and the contact you have to take it day-by-day and see how you feel. Hopefully I'll continue to improve and progress and we'll see how I feel by the weekend.

"It's hard to say what percentage I'm at. I could just make up a percentage and tell you where I'm at, but I think this is a big test for me and obviously my first game will be a big test, too. You take a big bump and you feel good which is great. It really helps your confidence."

Ever cautious, Lombardi will not commit to playing in the pre-season, even when all signs are pointing that way. When you've been on the sidelines for a year, that's how things work.

"If it happens, it happens," Lombardi said, "And I'll be happy. If I don't get a game it's not a negative. It just means I'm not quite where I need to be to play in a game. I need to be in the right frame of mind and I need to be confident that my body needs to be in the right place. We'll see how this week goes and we'll have a better idea at the end of the week."

One thing is for certain, a team looking for a little speed and experience up front - not to mention depth scoring and penalty killing - could sure use a guy who is determined to make it back.

Veteran hockey columnist Mike Brophy will cover the Toronto Maple Leafs for sportsnet.ca for the 2011/12 season.