LOS ANGELES | At the entrance to the Kings’ training center in El Seguondo, there are photos of four players: Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, Dustin Brown and Tyler Toffoli. The top three remain key figures for the club, while the last has been wearing the Canadiens jersey for two years.
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The Kings have not yet changed their decoration. We will forgive them. At the sports complex in Brossard, there are still posters of Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Jordan Weal and Victor Mete.
The pandemic has cost the NHL teams millions and some have chosen to cut spending in funny places.
But we come back to Toffoli. Traded from the Kings to the Vancouver Canucks on February 17, 2020, the 29-year-old Ontarian has yet to play a single game against Los Angeles that drafted him in the second round in 2010.
At the end of the 2019-20 season, Toffoli wore the Canucks uniform for just 10 games. He hadn’t faced the Kings. In his first season last year in Montreal, the number 73 got to know by heart the arenas of six other Canadian NHL teams.
With a return to traditional divisions and a regular schedule of 82 games, Toffoli will finally break the ice against the Kings at Staples Center.
“It’s a bit special,” he admitted. I was chatting with guys and therapists and everything. I took their news. I am feverish. I have spent many years here. I have a lot of good memories. “
Summer in california
Even though he hasn’t played on the Staples Center ice since February 12, 2020, Toffoli remains familiar with the Kings environment.
“I spend my summers here so it’s really not that weird. But it’s sure to watch their practice in my Canadiens clothes, it’s a little different. “
Despite his departure, Toffoli never cut ties with California by keeping a house there.
“I have a lot of friends here. I played with several guys who still live here. We have a great group [durant l’été], it’s a good environment. It’s easy for me to train and skate all the time. “
Archive photo, Martin Chevalier
Tyler Toffoli certainly hopes to have a strong game against his former team on Saturday night in Los Angeles.
Money at stake
It’s a classic. But as Kotkaniemi did for his return to the Bell Center with the Hurricanes, Phillip Danault has confirmed that he will put an amount of money on the Kings table if he wins.
The Quebecer refused to reveal the nature of the amount, simply saying that it was: “en masse”.
Toffoli will most likely write a note in the opposing team’s dressing room to encourage his teammates to get the win.
When asked if he had any advice for Danault for his reunion against CH, the winger offered the following response.
“He will just have to play his game. Everyone knows him. He’s a hard worker, he skates well and he takes care of his own business. There’s a reason the Kings made him sign a contract and gave him all that money. He is happy to be here. “
For his part, Toffoli expects to hear Kings captain Anze Kopitar speak to him regularly on the ice.
“Doughty and“ Kopi ” [Kopitar] laugh at me all the time, he clarified. It will be the same again. “
Injured in the right knee on October 22 against the Stars in Dallas, Doughty will however miss the meeting against the Habs.
A slack period
Like the CH, Toffoli got off to a slow start with three points (1 goal, 2 assists) in eight games.
“We saw it last year. He has a talent for scoring, said Dominique Ducharme. Right now, it doesn’t fit as much as he would like. But it’s not just that. He is very intelligent, he can play in all situations, in advance, when you lose by a goal or on special teams. And he’s got experience, he won the Stanley Cup here [en 2014]. “
“Tyler, he’s a streak guy,” continued the Habs head coach. When he falls into a good rhythm, he can score in several games in a row. He has to trust himself, take as many shots as possible because he can score from anywhere. “
It’s not just Toffoli who will want to go on a happy streak. It’s the same story for the CH, which has won only two games in eight games.