Toronto Maple Leafs Getting a Huge Boost on Thursday

The Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to have newcomer Nick Foligno in the lineup on Thursday against the Winnipeg Jets, this according to his interview with NHL.com's Daren Millard via The Chirp Podcast.

Foligno left his family in Columbus and made way to his summer home a few hours north of Toronto to start his seven-day quarantine requirement. He had this to say to Millard on the podcast regarding his debut vs the Jets and ex-teammate Pierre-Luc Dubois:

We'll face off against each other for the first time, so the familiar face across the way. It will be nice to probably have a practice but I rather … let's go. I'm here to play for them and get this thing going, so I probably prefer to jump right into the door.

Foligno is slated to play on the Leafs first line with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner and let's just say he's a touch excited to get going:

They're fun to watch. I can't imagine what it's going to be like to play. The plays that they make, you marvel at, especially coming from a team where it was a struggle for us this year a little bit. To see them at will kind of just make these plays and the confidence in which they play, I'm excited to join that. I'm excited to learn from these guys. There's some older guys that I haven't really had around me in a while in Columbus. We've been a young team for a long time, so there's just so many reasons Toronto feels like the right fit.

Look for the Leafs to keep a close eye on Foligno's play early on with the team. If he's fitting in nicely with Matthews and Marner, he's likely to stay there. If not, he will slide down and play with John Tavares and William Nylander.

Regardless where he plays, Foligno will provide the Maple Leafs with some more depth in their top-six. The rich got richer this trade deadline.