Maple Leafs at a glance
	Camp schedule: Sept. 12: Mile One Stadium (St. John's, Newfoundland) Coach/GM: Pat Quinn (4th season, 127-89-25-8)

Last spring, the Eric Lindros saga became a major distraction for the Maple Leafs. Was he coming, was he not coming, why wasn't he coming? Lindros, who was sitting out and awaiting a trade, made it clear that he wanted to go to the Leafs and it affected a good number of players on the team, so much so that the team stumbled in the second half of the year.

Now that Lindros has ended up in Manhattan and captain Mats Sundin has signed a long-term deal, the Leafs can settle down. Despite the stability of the latter move, there will be quite a few new faces when opening night rolls around.

Can Alexander be great?: There's no denying the right winger's gifts. He racked up 43 goals last season with the New Jersey Devils, his best output since 1995-96 when he had 55 with Vancouver. But will the enigmatic forward, now 32 years old, thrive in the fishbowl that is Toronto? He should be a potent combination with Sundin.

Goodbye both character and characters: Goaltender Glenn Healy, one of the best leaders in the dressing room as well as one of the most entertaining quotes in the league, was bought out by the team. Backing up Curtis Joseph will be Mikael Tellqvist, who played in the Swedish League the last two years. Also missing will be veteran Steve Thomas, who signed as a free agent with Chicago. Thomas, who had a rough regular season but good playoff run, also will be missed in the dressing room.

Pickle in the middle?: After Sundin, the Maple Leafs have some interesting choices at center. During the offseason, the club picked up Robert Reichel and Travis Green. But they lost Yanic Perreault to free agency and division rival Montreal. Perreault was the third-leading scorer with a career-high 52 points. Whether the Leafs have enough of an arsenal remains to be seen. But if Lindros is a hit in Gotham and if the team gets off to a rocky start, the sniping will be heard across four time zones.

Maple Leafs 2001-02 preseason schedule
Date	Opponent	Time
Sun., Sept. 16	vs. Montreal at Mile One Stadium, St. John's, Newfoundland	Canceled
Tue., Sept. 18	at Montreal	7:30 p.m.
Wed., Sept. 19	at Ottawa	7 p.m.
Fri., Sept. 21	Pittsburgh	7:30 p.m.
Sun., Sept. 23	Ottawa	7:30 p.m.
Wed., Sept. 26	at Detroit	7:30 p.m.
Thu., Sept. 27	Buffalo	7:30 p.m.
Sat., Sept. 29	vs. Buffalo at Copps Coliseum, Hamilton, Ontario	7:30 p.m.
Sun., Sept. 30	Detroit	7:30 p.m.