“Flustered” certainly wasn’t the word. “Nervous” wasn’t, either. “Fidgety”? That’s the one.
Darcy Tucker’s eyes darted everywhere when discussing his first game as a member of a Western Conference team, Thursday night for the Avalanche against Boston.
After 12 years in the Eastern Conference, Tucker is eager to experience life in Denver after the Toronto Maple Leafs effectively told him to go west — anywhere but with them.
“I don’t think it matters how many games you’ve played or how many years. You still get that butterfly feeling,” said Tucker, who spent the last eight seasons in Toronto. “I think that’s going to be even more so, being with a new team and being in front of new fans.”
Tucker played left wing on the Avs’ third line with Tyler Arnason and Marek Svatos. Tucker was probably the Av most familiar with the Bruins.
“They work extremely hard, and they’re a team that transitions well,” he said.
McLeod relieved.
Cody McLeod was cut at last season’s Avalanche training camp. He was expected to make the team this time, and he did. Not that he was overconfident.
“I got some games in last year. But I knew I had to work hard this summer,” said McLeod, who earned a fourth-line, left wing spot. “I wanted to be here in this position right now. But I’ve just got to keep working from now on.”
The Manitoba native does not have any individual goals for the season, but he does want to cut down on unnecessary penalties.
“I just want to be consistent, play hard every night,” he said. “You don’t want to be putting your team short-handed, so sometimes I might have to bite my ego a bit and stay out of the box.”
