Maple Leafs' Rielly: We're excited and we're anxious to start playing.

Morgan Rielly is excited about the start of the Maple Leafs' pre-season. The team is going to play the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday. They play Montreal on Wednesday and the home opener against Washington on Thursday. The players are confident after a good camp. Riesl believes the team can be a really good team if they buy in and play structured. He believes it takes action to prove it. It takes time, takes games and takes competition to get to the real thing. "It takes actions to show where you're at"

Michael Bunting has been playing with the top power-play unit with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. John Tavares is out injured. Keefe thinks Bunts can play well with Tavare's absence. He also thinks that Bunted can help Austoon with faceoff duties.

Neither Tavares nor Timothy Liljegren skated on Thursday. They are expected to be on the ice on Friday. Alex Kerfoot expects growth in the Matthews line this season. Ilya Samsonov thinks Auston Matthews has a better shot than Alex Ovechkin. Nick Abruzzese will play for the Toronto Marlies this year. Connor McDavid is favourite to win the Hart Trophy. Several Leafs will be at Covenant House on Monday to serve Thanksgiving meals to at-risk youth. McEdgens is 13/5 to become the NHL’s most valuable player.