"All the players who sweated and laughed through the Craig Charron Memorial Classic on Sunday in Rochester, N.Y., had earned a few swigs of liquid refreshment.

A teammate offered a beverage to Tim Connolly, who, slapping his hand on a stomach that was as flat and hard as the stall in front of which he stood, politely declined.

"It's crunch time now, you know," he said of the real hockey action coming up. "I still have a ways to go. Now it's about skating and conditioning."

Connolly, at a taut 191 pounds and winded not at all, looked to be the very definition of a player in midseason form. But three months past his 30th birthday and heading into his 11th NHL season, he knew better than to stray from the course.

Especially when this course could be taking him through the most challenging season and city of his career.

Connolly is most likely the next first-line center under the microscope in Toronto, courtesy of a two-year, $9.5 million contract he signed in July. His game will be dissected like his body has been examined. Which, considering how often virtually every inch of his 6-foot-1 frame has been broken, torn or smashed, is a lot.

"I'm just looking forward to my time in Toronto, getting ready for that," he said about shaking his injury jinx. "That's what I'm thinking about now. I think the fan support there, it's just a hockey town. I think it will be just an exciting experience for me."

It's also one that was Connolly's Plan B.

By his own admission Connolly's first option was a deal that would have returned him to the Sabres, for whom he played eight seasons. But Buffalo decided that story was played out.

Connolly has the hands, vision and dangle factor unmatched except by the NHL's elite playmakers. When healthy, he created the sizzle expected from someone with that package. Last season he compiled 13 goals and 42 points in 68 games with Buffalo and two seasons ago put up 17 goals and 65 points in 73 contests. "