TORONTO — The Maple Leafs are back.

Wednesday was media day at the team’s practice facility in Etobicoke. GM John Chayka, senior adviser Mats Sundin and new coach Jim Hiller spoke together and were followed by the team’s trio of No. 1 overall picks: Auston Matthews,  John Tavares and Gavin McKenna.

The one way the Tkachuks’ Panthers reunion could fail

Max Bultman, Mark Lazerus and more

Here’s what we learned.

1. Who won’t be around to start camp

The first day of training camp always brings updates on different players’ health status, and Wednesday was no different.

First, as suspected, Chayka said forward Max Domi failed his physical and will be out indefinitely. It’s likely Domi is placed on LTIR, the Leafs get salary cap relief on his $3.75 million cap hit, and they slide in under the cap.

The big surprise came in the form of Morgan Rielly likely missing parts of training camp and possibly the first preseason game due to what Chayka called a “viral condition.” Chayka, however, did not express serious concern over Rielly’s status and expected him to be ready to start the regular season.

Leaf hopeful William Villeneuve had ACL “construction,” according to Chayka, and will be out long term. That’s tough news for a player who had risen to the top of the Marlies defence depth chart last season and looked capable of handling NHL minutes.

There was some positive health news from Chayka: Chris Tanev — who played just 11 games last season and had core muscle surgery in March — is back to full health to start the season.

“(Tanev) pushed himself as hard as anybody in the gym and on the ice,” Chayka said. “I feel really confident that his injuries are in a good place. He’s as healthy as anybody, and obviously he’s a big part of the team.” —Kloke

2. Auston Matthews is happy

Auston Matthews was famously non-committal about his future with the Leafs at the end of last season.

“I can’t predict the future,” he said.

He was in more optimistic spirits on Day 1 of camp and was reflective on what exactly was running through his mind in the spring.

“My intent was always to be here,” said Matthews, who heads into his third season as captain and 11th with the team. “I think it was more so just taking a step back and seeing who comes in, because they may think of something different or they may have different plans or different visions for what they see fit (for the team). So I thought it was just appropriate to take a step back, see what happens, and go from there.”

When Matthews last spoke in mid-April, when he expressed genuine uncertainty about his future in Toronto after a calamitous season, the Leafs had only recently fired Brad Treliving as general manager. A lot was up in the air; not just who would replace Treliving ,but whether the team would pivot into a full-on rebuild after the worst season, by far, in recent memory.

Chayka was hired as Treliving’s replacement in early May and quickly went about retooling the team for playoff contention.

Among the many, many moves: the hiring of Hiller as head coach and acquisition of a new No. 1 goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky, and new No. 1 defenceman, Darren Raddysh.

“I really like what he’s done this summer,” Matthews said of Chayka. “I think he’s made some great changes, brought in some great people, some great players, some great outside hires as well.”

Matthews’ long-term future with the Leafs remains a question mark. He has two years on his contract. He can sign an extension July 1.

Chayka advised fans to “just enjoy” Matthews.

“One day he won’t be a Toronto Maple Leaf,” the Leafs GM said. “Hopefully that ends with retirement.” —Siegel

3. Matthews is healthy

According to both Chayka and Matthews himself, the star centre is fully recovered from the MCL tear he suffered last season.

“He is full-go and 100 percent,” Chayka said. “Physically, he looks great. More importantly, I am sure you see it the same way I do, he is smiling, having fun, engaging with his teammates, and being the great leader he is.”

Leafs Nation can breathe a sigh of relief.

“I try to hold myself to extremely high standards,” Matthews added. “It was a frustrating year last year, of course. But it’s a new season. I’ve had you know a lot of time to think about it and going into this year, and I’m feeling as good as possible.” —Kloke

4. Where is Gavin McKenna playing?

“Let’s have the suspense build,” said Hiller when asked who McKenna would be playing alongside when on-ice sessions opened Thursday morning. “It’s a burning question, as it should be. We just don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. Our goal is to put him in the best position to succeed, while accounting for all the other players on the team that we want to put in the best position to succeed as well.”

The question, obviously, is this: Will McKenna play with Matthews right away or not?

It seems likely the answer is not, for now, and that McKenna, an 18-year-old, will start camp on a line with Tavares instead.

When Hiller notes that the team is reluctant to “get too far ahead of ourselves” and wants to “put him in the best position to succeed,” that sounds like a group that will be careful not to thrust too much on him right away.

Starting McKenna, the No. 1 pick, on the No. 1 line, on the first day of camp, in Toronto, would be a lot.

Hiller said there were many conversations internally about how to handle a decision like this. “You’d be surprised at how much goes into a decision on where a player starts, a player of that stature starts,” he said. —Siegel

5. Tavares and McKenna are excited to live together

Both Tavares and McKenna spoke at length about how the 2026 No. 1 pick is going to be living with the 2009 No. 1 pick. Tavares offered a room in his Toronto home to McKenna, as he did for Matthew Knies previously.

The veteran and the rookie clearly share excitement about their living arrangements this season.

“You can see he comes from a great family,” Tavares said of McKenna before listing the qualities that stick out about the young Leaf. “Obviously, how he carries himself, his maturity, the values that he has as a person first and foremost and how he treats people.”

McKenna smiled when speaking about his new landlord.

“I think just kind of shows the type of person (Tavares) is,” McKenna said. “He’s such a good leader.”

There could be many changes to McKenna’s habits and routines that come from living with Tavares who is known to have a detailed off-ice program that includes a studious approach to sleep and diet.

McKenna said he already sees the upside.

“One thing I’ve noticed is obviously (Tavares) played 82 games last year and I don’t think that comes without the off-ice stuff and the habits he has,” McKenna said. “And hopefully I have seasons like that where I can play 82 games, take care of my body.” —Kloke

6. McKenna is embracing high expectations

Maybe the most interesting nugget from McKenna was this: How all the scrutiny and attention of playing for the Leafs, and being the top pick, could actually benefit him.

The teenager referred back to the lessons he learned last season at Penn State where, as the projected top NHL draft pick, he struggled early on, “heard all the noise and started to work harder.”

He hoped to start quickly with the Leafs and “hopefully not to have hear that noise.”

“For me, it’s a good motivator coming to a market like this where the eyes are on you and you’re gonna hear if you’re playing bad,” McKenna said. “Some people might not like it, but I see it as a blessing in disguise.”

McKenna said he had “high expectations” for himself and that in Toronto, especially, “expectations are going to be higher.”

“We’re just gonna try to be wise,” Hiller said of handling McKenna in his rookie year. “We’re not setting any ceiling on him at all. We’re gonna let him dictate where he falls. Ultimately, we all know he’s going to be a tremendous player in the league.

“How quickly does he get there?” Hiller wondered aloud. “It’s a development curve for every single player who comes into this league.” —Siegel

7. McKenna makes a surprise appearance

The fact that the Leafs brought out McKenna, all of 18 years old, to address the media on the first day of training camp is notable. Yes, he sat with two players who have significantly more than 18 years of NHL experience between them. But rookies rarely sit in front of the media to open training camp in Toronto.

McKenna speaking on the first day feels like a contrast to Hiller’s belief in being patient with the rookie’s on-ice responsibilities. Perhaps the Leafs believe the confident McKenna could handle heavy media duties early on. Perhaps they understand how important McKenna is going to be to the organization long-term and do not want to shield him.

Either way, it was a surprise. And on a streamlined opening day of camp with so few surprises, seeing McKenna sitting alongside Matthews and Tavares stood out. —Kloke