Schenn relishing reunion with Maple Leafs: 'This is pretty special'

Journeyman defenseman Luke Schenn isn't taking his second stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs for granted.

The 33-year-old was re-acquired by the Leafs in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, nearly 15 years after Toronto drafted him fifth overall in 2008 and over 10 years since he was traded away to the Philadelphia Flyers in 2012.

"There's no question, for where I'm at in my career, this is pretty special," Schenn said following his first game back with the Leafs, a 2-1 win over the Calgary Flames, according to The Athletic's Jonas Siegel.

Schenn added that he got "chills" when he put the Maple Leafs sweater back on again.

It was a stellar debut for Schenn, too, who posted a plus-1 rating with four hits and two blocks in 10:42 of action. His 60.56% expected goals share at five-on-five topped all Leafs defensemen in the contest, per Natural Stat Trick. His effort was enough to earn him the player of the game belt.

He's got The PasSchenn TM pic.twitter.com/Fnb6FDilAH

- Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) March 3, 2023

Schenn played for six different teams across 11 seasons between stints with the Maple Leafs.

"I've had some ups and downs throughout my career as well, too, so when you come back and get this opportunity, you definitely don't take it for granted," he told TSN during the first intermission.

Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.