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Welcome to the season, Tim Connolly

Buffalo Sabres v Philadelphia Flyers - Game Two

PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 16: Tim Connolly #19 of the Buffalo Sabres skates against the Philadelphia Flyers in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Wells Fargo Center on April 16, 2011 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)

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For the first time this season, the Leafs will head into a game with everyone they want ready to go. Offseason free agent acquisition Tim Connolly is finally healthy and set to join the Leafs when they take on the Rangers tomorrow night and for Connolly it’s a welcome relief to be back on the ice.

Connolly is much maligned when it comes to injuries and being out of the lineup more often than being in it makes life for him and his new team especially tricky. Making things even more curious about where to fit him into the lineup is how well Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul have been playing together. While it might seem irrelevant as to who centers those two, it has been Tyler Bozak most of the time, tossing Connolly into the mix on that top line could tweak the chemistry in the wrong way.

Coach Ron Wilson will have a handful of decisions to make with his lineup as it is anyhow, but finding the right place to slot in Connolly is chief amongst them. He’s being counted on to be one of their top centers eventually, but starting him there now and throwing him to the wolves against the Rangers may not be the right way to start.