Newly signed forward Connor Brown is looking forward to his sophomore season with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Brown, who signed a three-year contract with the team on Saturday, was on Sportsnet’s Starting Lineup Monday, where he spoke of hoping to build on what was a successful 2016-17.

“The team’s going to grow closer, especially with everything we went through last year,” Brown said of Toronto’s surprise run to the playoffs, where it fell to the Washington Capitals in tight first-round series. “We’ll be itching to get back there and do some damage.”

Brown spent 43.9 per cent of his even-strength shifts last season with Nazem Kadri and Leo Komarov, and 41.6 per cent with Auston Matthews and Zach Hyman, according to Dobber Sports.

The addition of winger Patrick Marleau, along with some competition from the likes of Kasperi Kapanen and Josh Leivo, could see some players slide down the lineup – though Brown isn’t worried about the prospect of a demotion.

“You gotta control the ‘control-ables’ and who (coach Mike Babcock) decides to put together, I’m sure we’ll come up with four solid lines so you try not to get too caught up in that,” said Brown, who had 20 goals and 36 points last season.

“The good thing about our team looking forward here is there’s a ton of guys that’ll be good to play with, so I don’t think there’ll be a bad line on the team.”

You can listen to the full interview below: