Winkler’s Fehr back for a visit — and a game

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This article was published 04/10/2017 (2900 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Eric Fehr came home again Wednesday night.

The 32-year-old centre from Winkler, who had a large contingent of supporters on hand for his only Bell MTS Place visit of the season, produced a minor surprise when he earned a spot on the Toronto Maple Leafs’ fourth line out of training camp, edging Dominic Moore for the job.

“I’m happy with the fact I’m in tonight and I understand my work’s just starting but I’m happy to be in this spot,” Fehr said following the club’s morning skate Wednesday. “You have to bring it every day and that’s what (head coach Mike Babcock) expects from everybody and the team, especially for a guy on the outside. You have to make sure you’re bringing your best work ethic every day and doing all the little things right.”

Fehr, dealt to Toronto from Pittsburgh on March 1 in a salary-cap move, played one game with the Leafs before injuring a hand and missing the rest of the season.

Getting shipped out of Pittsburgh — where he played a vital role on the Penguins’ 2015-16 Stanley Cup winners — wasn’t easy to accept. He is in the final season of a three-year contract worth US$6 million.

“It was a little bit frustrating,” Fehr said.

“I thought I had a really good role the year we won (in Pittsburgh) and we had a lot of the same players coming back and I was hoping to fill that same role. I didn’t think a lot had changed but with the salary-cap crunch they knew was coming the next summer, I think that affected their decison a lot.”

Fehr has been a winger for most of his career but has experienced success more recently in the middle. In Toronto, the 6-4, 208-pounder will centre wingers Matt Martin and Connor Brown while also pulling some minutes on the penalty-killing unit.

“It took a little bit of time to transition but I definitely feel more comfortable there,” Fehr said.

“I get a little bit more involved and I like to help out down low in the zone and help free the pucks and move them up ice. I think that’s one of my stronger aspects.”

Traded to the Jets by the Washington Capitals in 2011-12, Fehr struggled to regain his form in Winnipeg.

“I got traded in a sling,” Fehr said, recalling his rehab from a second surgery on his right shoulder.

“I got traded to Winnipeg and I probably shouldn’t have come back when I did. I don’t wanna say I regret it, because I’m very proud to say I played for the Jets, but it was a tough year to say the least.”

MR. UNDERRATED? Young Leafs phenom Auston Matthews was asked for his take on Jets centre Mark Scheifele, his linemate on the high-flying Team North America at last fall’s World Cup.

“He’s super-competitive and focused,” Matthews said. “He loves hockey. He really loves to study it… I think he’s a pretty underrated player. When we played him, you watch him and look at the numbers he put up last year, he’s a heck of a player. He’s fun to watch, so is definitely one of the guys we’re looking out for tonight.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @sawa14