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I am fitter this year: Komisarek
By
Terry Koshan, QMI Agency
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  Mike Komisarek leaves the ice and enters the dressing room last season. (Michael Peake/QMI AGENCY)
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Mike Komisarek wants the questions about his play in the past to stop.
But the Maple Leafs defenceman seems to realize that won’t happen until he’s a solid contributor every night.
“The media falls in love with these stories,” Komisarek said.
“I played well (toward the end of last year) and the team played well, and you just continue. Play simple and hard, and be a consistent rock on defence.”
Komisarek, who averaged just 13 minutes 37 seconds of ice time a game last season, spent the summer in Florida and at his home on Long Island in New York, and changed his training routine.
“I did a lot more hockey-functional stuff, ran, more explosive stuff like sprints and jumping,” the 29-year-old said. “I am fitter this year. I’m lighter, and hopefully it translates on the ice.”
Komisarek will have a salary cap hit of $4.5 million US in each of the next three seasons. A Brian Burke signing in the summer of 2009, it’s hard to see Komisarek being buried in the minors.
“There’s a healthy competition on defence and guys are fighting for minutes,” Komisarek said. “You only worry about what you can control. You just out and play.”
