Brian Boyle answers a question with question.
“What day is it today?”
The newest Toronto Maple Leaf is told it’s Monday. That means yesterday was Sunday and the day before that was Saturday. It’s all been a whirlwind.
Saturday was the day he flew from California with his new team. It was also the day that his wife, Lauren, arrived in Toronto for the first time, pregnant and with their nearly two-year-old son, Declan, in tow, having flown up from Tampa with enough gear to set up residence in a new city — a new country — for who knows exactly how long.
“She’s been a rock star about the whole thing. It’s unbelievable, what she’s done, taking care of everything in Florida. International flight, delayed for an hour. That’s a nightmare, right there. [Declan] just wants to get moving,” said Boyle, who lied down for his pre-game nap a week ago expecting to play his 213th game for the Tampa Bay Lightning and woke up to learn he was the newest member of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
And, by the way, could he make it to San Jose for the game the next night?
“The flight from Tampa to San Jose was tough,” said Boyle. “There wasn’t much sleep the night before, trying to prepare to fly out. It was a 5 a.m. wake-up to fly across the country, connect, play. Trying to get bearings there was interesting. That with the emotion of the whole thing — it was new for me.”
Everything is new. After playing three games in four nights on the road in California with his new team, Boyle is home now, but not really. He’s taken Uber to practice from the downtown-hotel apartment the Leafs have set him up in for the rest of the regular season and (hopefully) beyond. The team has provided a car and all the comforts of home, but rather than risk getting lost on his way out to the Leafs’ west-end practice facility, he’s opted to let someone else do the driving for now – one less thing to worry about.
“I’m sure [I] could have jumped in with a couple of guys [for a ride],” he said. “But I wanted to get here (Mastercard Centre) early and I didn’t want to get lost or screw anything up.”
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Being early — he says he’ll get to the ACC early on Tuesday in preparation for the Leafs game against the visiting Detroit Red Wings — is both a habit and part of Boyle’s job description according to Leafs head coach Mike Babcock, who sees the six-foot-seven centre with 100 playoff games on his resume as much more than a face-off and penalty-kill specialist who can play all over his lineup.
“What him and [Eric Fehr, another veteran acquired at the trade deadline] bring off the ice as people is more important or as important as what they bring on the ice,” said Babcock, who has 18 games remaining to guide his young Leafs club to the playoffs. “And as a fan you might go, ‘Well that doesn’t make any sense,’ but what you do is learn how to be a pro and you learn how to do it right and learn the respect for the game. Boyle’s played a ton [of playoff games] and Fehr’s just won a Cup. It’s so important that you learn what it takes to be a great, great pro. The more of those pros you have in your room the better chance you have for success.”
Boyle feels the expectations, so while trying to get his bearings with a new team in a new city and hoping his wife and son can get settled as well, he’s fretting about picking up the nuances of a new system in time to make an impact as the Leafs trail the New York Islanders by one point for the second wild-card spot.
“They’ve done a great job [getting me acclimatized] but I’ve got a long way to go in learning the language of the coaching staff and the system,” he said. “The more I can talk to them, the more I can hear about certain situations and exactly what I’m supposed to be doing — it will all help because, again, these games are critical, and if I’m getting an opportunity I want to do my part.”
As for the leadership role, Boyle says that part should come easily, in large part because the Leafs’ young core are part of the advanced class when it comes to handling the rigors of an NHL season, even if this is their first playoff run.
“The kids here are committed,” said Boyle. “Everyone is here early, getting their work in. If you’re a veteran guy and they want you to be a positive influence, it makes your job a little bit easier — they have some good-character kids here.”
Now he just needs one of the young guys to help him find his own way to the rink, and everyone wins.