New Leafs acquisition is making headlines after opening up in front of the cameras

Nick Paul is home, and the 31-year-old forward is still adjusting to how strange that feels.

Toronto acquired Paul from the Tampa Bay Lightning this summer in a trade that sent goaltender Dennis Hildeby and draft picks the other way.

The Mississauga native is now sharing a locker room with two names he used to battle every spring in the Battle of Florida.

Darren Raddysh, his former Lightning teammate, made the same move to Toronto and posted 70 points in 73 games last season.

Sergei Bobrovsky, once the backbone of the rival Florida Panthers, is now Paul's own goaltender.

Paul spoke at the Leafs & Legends charity golf tournament Monday and laughed about laughing with Bobrovsky over their old physical battles during the Battle of Florida.

He said he's genuinely happy to have Bobrovsky on his side now instead of trying to beat him every postseason.

The kid who used to scalp tickets now wears the jersey

Paul described taking the commuter train as a kid to watch Leafs games from the nosebleeds at Scotiabank Arena, buying resold tickets just to get in the building.

Now he's the one wearing the jersey the Toronto crowd cheers for.

Captain Auston Matthews was one of the first to welcome him when he arrived, a gesture Paul specifically pointed to as making the transition easier.

Paul dealt with injuries late last season, finishing with just 15 points in 51 games, and he says he's fully healthy heading into training camp.

He rebuilt his summer training around cardio, hip activation, and core strength, aiming to bring more punch to Toronto's supporting lines after last year's setback.

Toronto finished 32-36-14 last season, 28th overall, and Paul made clear he sees a genuinely different feeling around this team now.

Here is his message to Leafs fans:

"It's gonna be a good year. We're gonna work really hard," Paul said. "Management has done a great job getting a team ready to compete for playoffs, and we're all just gonna buy in and find a way."