The Toronto Maple Leafs players got together Sunday for the first time since April, for a public training session at the MasterCard Centre in Etobicoke.
Across North America, NHL teams held post-lockout training camps and in some cities,allowed fans to fill the bleachers. The training skate was a chance for coaches and managers to test the fitness of the players.
There's extra pressure on the Leafs' players and management, after general manager Brian Burke was replaced by Dave Nonis just days after the end of the lockout.
The Leafs, who haven't seen playoff action since 2004, have less than a week to get ready for their season opener next Saturday night in Montreal.
With a truncated 48-game season, every moment on the ice matters.
"If they don't know the importance of the first seven or eight games, then they didn't do well in math," Nonis told reporters. "It's going to be difficult for anyone to take games off."
Long the most profitable team in the league due to fan loyalty and broadcast rights, the Leafs haven't won a Stanley Cup since 1967.
Nonis has already made his first moves, addding defencemen Cody Franson and Mike Mottauto one-year contracts with the team.
Mottau, who has played 8 season in the NHL and received a two-way deal and could possibly be sent to the American Hockey League, where he was playing this year.
