On a “tumultuous” off-season:

No, we’re not in off-season. We’re in a regular season.

On the spirit of the team as it approaches the home opener:

They had a good camp. Good work, good energy, good focus, ready to go.

On how long before the new players gel with the team:

About eight hours. That would be a good time, right? That’d be a perfect timeline.

On whether the team still has a target on its back:

We had a good year. We just didn’t make the playoffs. It was actually one of the better years in the club’s history.

On Dustin Brown saying that the longer off-season afforded extra recovery time:

I think that’s old news already. All the questions you’re asking are all old now.

On opening the season against San Jose:

Good rivalry for a long time. If you look at the teams that’ve been really close, both have been really competitive teams in the conference and in the division always. I think there’s a lot of good match-ups internally in it – not just from a team standpoint, [but] from an individual standpoint. It’s always a match-up you look forward to, just because in some ways it’s been a bigger rivalry than Anaheim-Los Angeles, if you look at all the hockey they’ve played against each other.

On whether he expects Martin Jones to hold down San Jose’s goaltending position:

Yeah. He comes from a good program. He comes from playing with a great goalie, and that can only benefit the long picture, and he’s also a good player. Good form. You want every player that you’ve coached or been associated with to be play at the highest level they can, and good for Jonesy.

On whether he still gets excited for home openers:

Yeah, I’m excited. It’s good to get going. I think that when you’re not used to having as much time off as we did here, it’s good to get going, and it goes fast, when you think training camp. Once camp starts, the season goes fast.

On what the feeling of the team is this year, as compared to previous years:

We’re trying to be a playoff team, absolutely, number one. It’s way tougher to make the playoffs than it is to win the Stanley Cup.