Colton Sissons joined OverDrive to discuss his decision to sign with the Maple Leafs, preparation for the fast-approaching season, his familiarity with his new teammates, and the Vegas Golden Knights’ run to the Stanley Cup Final.
Congratulations on the new deal with the Leafs. What is your level of excitement? You are a Vancouver boy coming over to Toronto. You must be pretty fired up to be in a Canadian market once again.
Sissons: Yeah, definitely. It is going to be good to come north of the border again and experience what it is going to be like to be a Leaf. I am pumped.
Have you come to Toronto yet? Do you know where you are going to be situated, and have you worked out all of those details?
Sissons: I am not in Toronto yet. I am down in Nashville right now, where I spend most of my offseasons, but we will probably be driving up next weekend.
We are still trying to dial in our living situation, so we have some work to do yet, but it is coming together.
What kind of pre-existing relationships do you have in the locker room? Are there guys on the team who you go back with?
Sissons: I am not too close with anybody, actually. I know Mo Rielly a little bit from skating together out west during the summers back in the day, but it is kind of a fresh slate for me coming into the locker room.
It will be good to meet some new guys and get to know everybody.
When you look at the opportunity in front of you, the Leafs have a new coach, a new GM, and a lot of new faces. How do you feel you can best contribute to the team this season?
Sissons: Obviously, it is a challenge with all of the newness coming in, as you mentioned, and there are a lot of new players in the locker room, too.
I think I am just going to come in, be myself, try to bring the guys together, and establish a good vibe in the locker room. Obviously, I will put in the work and try to be a leader for us.
I will keep it simple and try to get everybody on the same page as quickly as possible because camp is going to be pretty quick this year. There is going to be a lot to sort out with the new systems and all of that. We are going to have to do it all together, for sure.
Take us back to July 1. Why the Leafs? There were presumably a number of teams interested in your services. You signed a two-year deal with Toronto. What pushed it over the edge?
Sissons: Obviously, the opportunity to put the Maple Leafs sweater on is probably number one. That is a pretty special experience for any player, and it is tough to pass up an opportunity like that.
Speaking with John (Chayka), hearing what their plans were and the additions they were making, and seeing some of those additions come across that morning was really exciting, too.
I think we are going to be able to turn this thing around pretty quickly and have a solid year.
When you look at the new format in the league — an 84-game regular season and a preseason that amounts to two nights, with two split-squad games on separate nights — how do you feel about it as a veteran player?
Sissons: It is great to shorten up camp, obviously, as an older fellow, but I think we have to be really dialed in for those games.
There is not a lot of runway, as I mentioned, and not a lot of time to work out the kinks. We have to be dialed in, take those games seriously, have good showings, and feel good about ourselves heading into Game 1.
You played 11 years in Nashville and last season in Vegas. Now, you are a Maple Leaf. What were Toronto’s best players — Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and John Tavares — like to compete against when you were an opposing player rather than a teammate?
Sissons: Obviously, all three of them are quite special players. I have been out west for my whole career, so I have not seen a ton of them, but they are special, special players who you can really build around. You need superstars like that to win in this league, and I am really happy to be joining them.
I think Matthews sent one of the first texts I received. We were happy that we would not be battling each other in the faceoff dot this year, so that will be nice.
What was the magic that enabled Vegas to go from an underwhelming regular season to such an impressive run to the Stanley Cup Final?
Sissons: You just have to get in, and you never know what can happen.
I think we really hit our stride heading into the playoffs. It was probably a little later than we would have liked. We had a coaching change late, which gave us some new juice in the room and really motivated us to be at our best night in and night out.
We timed it really well and started playing our best hockey at the right time. We snuck in there — not by a ton of points — but you just have to get in.
Easton Cowan said Max Domi is arranging the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ fantasy football league. Have you received an invitation?
Sissons: I did, yeah. I am actually quite happy with my pick this year. I have the second pick.
Have you already determined the draft order? How was it decided?
Sissons: Yeah, [Domi] was dialed in. He made a little video for the group chat and drew the names live out of a bucket, so there was no funny business happening. He did a great job.
Are you thinking Jahmyr Gibbs or Bijan Robinson? Fill us in on your thinking. We could use your advice.
Sissons: I do not hate Bijan in my lineup.
I have been pretty busy lately getting my life organized to move again, so I have not done too much fantasy research yet.
