T-minus one sleep until the Maple Leafs kick off their two-game NHL Global Series slate.

It’s been a long wait, hasn’t it? Personally, I’m curious to see how they come out after the travel/extensive break. If it were me, I would be absolutely sending it in Stockholm, but then again, I’m not a pro athlete.

At any rate, we kicked off the Thursday edition of Leafs Morning Take by discussing the flu and how often players play sick. The conversation stemmed from the fact that both Jay Rosehill and I have been under the weather the past few days. On top of that, I’ve always wondered how players deal with stomach aches etc., maybe that’s why they’re so regimented with their pre-game meals. Unsurprisingly, Rosey had a couple great stories to bring to the table —including one about his former teammate making a habit of soiling himself on the bench.

Presented by DoorDash, The Appetizer focused on the latest from practice. Primarily, we discussed John Klingberg’s status and where Sheldon Keefe should deploy Conor Timmins when he’s ready to return from his lower body injury. Clearly, there’s a lot of moving parts to the blueline right now.

Meantime, brought to you by SOBER CARPENTER, we had a chance to connect with former Maple Leaf Jonas Hoglund. The 51-year-old will be in Stockholm on Sunday for Toronto’s game against Minnesota. We discussed everything from William Nylander to Pat Quinn. It was a lot of fun!

Join us for the Friday edition of Leafs Morning Take at 11 AM ET. Finally, we’ll have a game to tee up. Speaking of which, Frank Seravalli, who’s in Sweden for the NHL Global Series games, will join us to preview Leafs/Red Wings. Additionally, we’ll ask him about the Tanev/Zadorov and also Patrick Kane.