Toronto Maple Leafs veteran defenseman Matthew Lombardi makes preseason debut -NHL News Update
Toronto Maple Leafs made a big decision over the 2011 National Hockey League (NHL) offseason to take over injured player, Matthew Lombardi’s three-year contract after Nashville Predators expressed their desire to trade him out.
Being knocked out due to a severe concussion last season on October 13, Lombardi managed to play only two games with his new team and did not comeback for the 80 remaining matchups.
The 29-year-old finally made a comeback on Saturday, October 1, nearly a year later, with Toronto Maple Leafs in their last preseason game of the year and had 17:08 of time on the ice, ending it with one missed shot on the Detroit Red Wings net.
For Lombardi, it was a relief to get out on the ice even though they lost the match, 4-2.
"It was nice to get out there", Lombardi told Hockey Night in Canada during the first intermission. "Just being in that atmosphere out there, with the crowd, the emotion before the game, the energy, was just nice”.
Having scored 53 points (19 goals, 34 assists) with Phoenix Coyotes during the 2009-2010 season, Lombardi became one of the highest valued centres in the league prior to facing his season ending concussion.
Since then, his reputation has changed throughout the league, to which Toronto Maple Leafs acted on the opportunity to grab the player and give him a chance to make a comeback.
Lombardi might not have played as much as Toronto would have liked during the preseason and could take time to adjust to the upcoming regular season, but head coach Ron Wilson certainly understands that.
"He hasn't played in over a year … He's practiced really hard for 10 days and been allowed physical contact the last week", Wilson said. "He's ready but game speed is an entirely different thing. He'll probably be very nervous but he's excited to play".
With over seven years of experience in the major league, Toronto Maple Leafs hopes that their investment in the player will eventually pay off sooner than later as they hope to turn around their team for the new season.
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