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| When Sundin scored his 500th goal his countryman Alex Steen was displayed on the game ticket. |
In my capacity as a writer, I have the opportunity to cover several Leafs games from the press box. But I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve watched a game from the seats at Air Canada Centre as a fan.
The most recent time was over 5 years ago. I remember the outing for a couple of reasons. It was my first opportunity to take my then-10-year-old nephew to a game.
Also, it was the night that Mats Sundin put on a clinic against the Calgary Flames.
When the future Hall-of-Famer is honoured tonight by having his banner raised to the rafters at Air Canada Centre, the 19,000+ fans at the rink and the millions watching the second game of CBC’s Hockey Day In Canada tripleheader will envision their favourite Sundin memories.
Fans with long memories will reflect on the overtime goal he scored against St. Louis on December 30, 1995, just six seconds into the extra session – a record for fastest OT marker that he shares with several players.
Others who are emotionally invested in the Battle of Ontario rivalry will recall the overtime winner in Game 1 of the 2001 Eastern Conference Quarter-Final versus Ottawa. The Leafs were heavy underdogs against the Senators, but Sundin’s goal was the catalyst to sweeping the series.
The long-serving Leafs captain has compiled a myriad of highlights in becoming the all-time leading scorer in club history. For me, the game I attended with my nephew on October 14, 2006 is at the top of the list.
In the first period, Sundin’s first goal of the evening put the Leafs up 2-0 at the end of a two-man advantage. Bryan McCabe made a diagonal pass from the right point Sundin, who practically had an open net to bury the puck behind Mikka Kiprussoff. The first penalized Flames player had yet to come back into the play after leaving the penalty box.
Calgary reeled off three straight goals in the second frame, led by the efforts of Mark Giordano who notched his first two career NHL tallies. Shortly after Alex Steen tied the game for the Leafs, Giordano had an unfortunate hand in Toronto’s go-ahead marker when Sundin’s shot was tipped off the Calgary defender’s stick and past Kiprusoff’s shoulder. That made it 4-3 Toronto, and 499 career goals for Sundin.
The third period became the Daymond Langkow show. After scoring for his team to knot the game 4-4, Langkow drew a marginal slashing call to Darcy Tucker with just under eight seconds left in regulation, much to the chagrin of Tucker and Leafs coach Paul Maurice.
With both teams heading to overtime, the storybook finish was set.
On the ensuing power-play, Alex Tanguay turned the puck over in his zone with Sundin carrying the puck up the left wing. As Sundin strode to the Calgary blueline, he unloaded his cannon of a shot while the Flames defenceman, backing up, moved out of the way so as not to screen his goalie (who is that #3 anyway? – he looks familiar, why it’s Dion Phaneuf!)
The puck beat Kiprusoff to the far side, sending the home team fans into delirium while hats littered the ice. Public address announcer Andy Frost made a three-stage announcement. “Toronto goal….
…his fourth of the season…
…his third of the game…
…and the FIVE HUNDREDTH of his National Hockey League career…
The screaming fans around me drowned out the rest of the details but you’d have to be comatose to not be able to fill in the blanks. “Scored by number 13. Mats SUNDIN!”
The milestone capped what would turn about to be the fourth and final hat-trick during Sundin’s tenure.
Towards the end of his time in Toronto, he took a lot of flak – unfairly in my opinion – for not waving his no-trade clause. As I’ve repeatedly stated in this column, a player is only indebted to the terms of his contract. He was allowed to not only want to stay in the city, but also to be undecided about his future. The long-term impact to his club – albeit negative in terms of lost opportunity cost to acquire assets in a trade – was always secondary, provided that he skated with full effort, on every shift, right up to his contract’s expiry date, which he did.
When #13 joins the likes of #27, #17 and #93 tonight, Leafs fans should forget those off-ice negotiations.
There were simply too many on-ice moments to applaud.
