Mats Downs the Leafs

Sundin Night in Canada ended in a dramatic fashion as none other than Mats Sundin was the third shooter in the shootout for the Vancouver Canucks with the game on his stick.

Being the clutch player he was, he came down the middle, faked the shot and went upstairs on his backhand. He did it with ease after a game where he clearly was not.

Given a standing ovation by the ACC crowd during a video-dedication, Sundin was visibly shook up. He took the faceoff after that brief moment teary eyed.

Despite the share of boos every time he touched the puck, there were also large numbers of fans who insisted on cheering in concert with the booing to drown them out.

Overall I'm satisfied by the fans response to the return of Sundin. And Sundin can relax now that it's all done.

Mats, thanks again for the 13 years of service.


UPDATE: To quote a Canucks fan from my Facebook account: "XXXX XXXX thinks that the Canucks win may have been scripted."

Sundin Night in Canada

Well folks, the night has come. Mats Sundin returns to the Air Canada Center, except this time he wont be wearing a Leaf on his jersey. He will be wearing a big C with a whale stuck on it.

My one wish is that the Leafs fans show some class and cheer him. I'm divided over whether the fans at the Air Canada Center will boo or cheer. One part of me is saying that there's no way a Leafs legend such as Sundin could be booed. But another part tells me that the 'betrayal' of Sundin is still fresh in the minds of Leafs fans.

Instead of thinking the fans will cheer, or they will boo, I'll go for a mixture of the two.

I think at the end of the day Sundin will be loved by this city and respected as one of the greatest to don the uniform. Maybe not among the greatest players ever, but out of this franchise, he's been one of the best.

No matter how they treat Sundin on Saturday night, he'll know how the city really feels about him. He knows that if the team was still a competitor, he'd be sitting on the other bench, ready to slog his guts out for the Blue and White.

There's a reason he said this would be 'just another game'. It's because he's going to block all of the negative out, and finish his career with class. He'll get a chance to reflect when he hangs up the skates.


The Toronto Sun is asking Leafs fans to cheer for Sundin. I'd say he deserves it too. However, I just don't know how many ACC attendees they'll be able to reach out to in time.