While there was much ballyhoo over Christian Hanson preparing to make his NHL debut tonight - mostly due to his father's fame as a Slap Shot Hanson Brother - Lee Stempniak quietly went about his business.
Hanson was a bundle of nerves as he packed his things for his first NHL road trip.
"I'm ecstatic right now, but getting on the ice and playing the game will be another level," said Hanson. "I've got some butterflies in the stomach and I think it will really hit me when I get on for that first shift."
Hanson has suddenly been saddled with some high expectations. GM Brian Burke identified him as a top-six forward - a big deal for the kind of team Burke wants to build - and Hanson will start on one of the Leafs' top lines with John Mitchell and Jason Blake.
"I think that shows they have confidence in me," said Hanson. "I hope to fill those expectations."
Stempniak knows all about expectations. He has some pretty high ones for himself that he's failed to meet. Stempniak has just 15 goals this season, well short of his career-best 27 in 2006-07.
"I definitely expected better," said Stempniak, who had a goal and an assist in a rare two-point performance on Wednesday. "I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well. I expected better numbers and to contribute more offensively."
That was the idea when the Leafs surrendered forward Alex Steen and defenceman Carlo Colaiacovo for Stempniak in a 2-for-1 trade with St. Louis.
"I had no idea what to expect coming to a new team," said Stempniak. "I'd never been traded before. I just wanted to fit in as quickly as possible and try and help the Leafs win games."
The question is will he have a place next season? Stempniak has another year on his contract, due to earn $3.5 million (all figures U.S.) next season, a year in which the Leafs already have $44 million committed to 17 players.
"He's been inconsistent," said coach Ron Wilson. "We brought him in to score and he hasn't scored as much as we hoped. He hasn't been a defensive liability, and he's competed hard every night."
He's moved from line to line, rarely staying with the same centre for more than a handful of games.
Lately, he's been paired with Matt Stajan, whose offence has tailed off, and will be joined tonight by Niklas Hagman with Boyd Devereaux shunted down the depth chart.
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