VANCOUVER _ Brian Boyle woke up Wednesday morning knowing he had a hockey game to play that night. It's a feeling that was sorely missing from his life after the Devils forward was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia at the start of training camp.
The Devils activated Boyle, 32, off injured reserve on Wednesday and he was in the lineup as the team opened a three-game Western Canada swing against the Canucks at Rogers Arena.
Right wing Kyle Palmieri (left foot) was placed on injured reserve retroactive to Oct. 22 to make room on the 23-man roster for Boyle.
"People say hockey is a game and that's true," said Boyle, who signed a two-year, $5.5 million deal with the Devils as a free agent and had not dressed for a game since the Maple Leafs were eliminated from the playoffs on April 23.
"I'm 32 years old and I get to play hockey," Boyle added. "That was taken away from me for a little bit. That was sad. It's something I've woken up every morning thinking about. I've always thought about the game."
The 6-foot-6, 245-pound Boyle, making his debut with his fifth NHL club after compiling 93 goals, 76 assists and 488 penalty minutes in 624 regular-season games with the Kings, Rangers, Lightning and Maple Leafs, started on fourth-line center Blake Coleman's left wing along with Miles Wood.
"It's been a long road for him," said coach John Hynes, who finalized the decision to insert Boyle into the lineup after a one-on-one conversation with him after Tuesday's practice in Vancouver. "I know he's real excited to play and we're really excited as an organization to have him back."
Boyle, a strong on the penalty kill and on faceoffs, obviously also adds size to the Devils' lineup.
Devils coach John Hynes says Brian Boyle, diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia at the start of training camp, will be in the lineup Wednesday night at Vancouver. Andrew Gross/NorthJersey.com
"I've loved this game," Boyle said. "It's given me so much. I met my wife in New York playing for the Rangers. Some of my closest friends I've made through hockey. Some of my best memories with my family, my parents, my dad, were at hockey games either when I was playing or when we were watching. I'm so blessed to be able to do this. We all are. If you're looking at the big picture and you turn on the news and look and your own situation with what you get to do, it's remarkable. I'm so thankful for that and I've never lost sight of that."
Boyle kept an upbeat attitude as he worked out alone after the diagnosis, patiently explaining what was happening to his teammates.
"It's in character," said the Canucks' Derek Dorsett, Boyle's ex-teammate with the Rangers. "If there's one guy who can get through something like that, it's him. He's determined."
