As training camps get underway across the National Hockey League, you begin to see some familiar faces wearing different uniforms. Sometimes, it’s a different logo, but in other cases, it’s a jacket rather than a jersey. We’ve seen a mix of both today, as it’s come out that Troy Bodie and Don Luce have joined the Leafs front office as professional scouts.

Luce is an interesting hire. He’s been involved in scouting and player development for the past twenty-eight years, and was a big factor in the Buffalo Sabres’ stretch of picking up quality talent on the cheap. Luce has been credited for helping bring in the likes of Alex Mogilny (to the point of physically helping with his defection to the US), Maxim Afinogenov, Martin Biron, Brian Campbell, and Jason Pominville; all players who exceed their expected potential. 

After the Sabres decided that they didn’t feel like spending money on employees was a worthwhile cause, Luce headed to the Flyers, where he took on a similar role until 2012 before switching to a pro scouting position, similar to what he’ll be taking on in Toronto. 

Bodie is an interesting one, in the sense that it seems to be more of a “life after hockey” move rather than the Leafs continuing to push the front office super-group that they’ve been so aggressive to build. 

I could be wrong; Bodie could be wise beyond his years and/or experience, but the reality is that he’s just months removed from wearing the C for the Toronto Marlies and occasionally chipping in for the Leafs. At this point, that probably means more to him getting a job than the “Tim Leiweke’s son-in-law” factor, though you wonder if it plays in too. Either way, it’s not a bad idea to have him involved. He obviously has a very with-the-times set of eyeballs given his circumstances, and with an unlimited budget, playing into “wisdom of the crowd” isn’t awful either.