By Stephen Johns

Mats Sundin—last seen shilling for PokerStars.net and, before that, captaining your Toronto Maple Leafs—is a thirty-seven-year old man headed west. He signed with the Vancouver Canucks yesterday afternoon.
In doing so, Sundin didn’t actually leave the Maple Leafs—his contract expired in July—but rather brought a symbolic end to his decade-long tenure wearing the captain’s “C” in Toronto. His decision will invariably be overanalyzed in the days and weeks to come by people who know much, much more about hockey than we do. Ours is a simpler job: remembering Mats Sundin from a fan’s perspective. And there’s a lot to remember about a player who joined the Maple Leafs back in 1994.
We’ll remember Sundin as one of our all-time favourite players. We’ll remember him for his skill, for his production (he leaves as the team’s all-time leading scorer) and for his sense of occasion (his fifteen career overtime goals are an NHL record). We’ll remember how he handled the responsibilities of being Maple Leaf captain with dignity and with class. We’ll remember some of his greatest personal moments—in particular a career-defining hat trick versus the Calgary Flames on October 14, 2006 which culminated with Sundin scoring the overtime winner (shorthanded, no less) for his five hundredth NHL goal. Above all, we’ll remember the irrepressible smile he flashed whenever he, or one of his teammates, put the puck in the net.
Sundin’s refusal to waive his infamous no-trade clause in February, followed by his protracted dalliance with the Canucks and the New York Rangers this season, upset a lot of people—but it shouldn’t affect his legacy here in Toronto. Simply put, Mats Sundin deserves to be remembered as one of the greatest players ever to wear the Maple Leaf sweater. On February 21, when the Canucks visit the Air Canada Centre, Leaf fans will have the opportunity to acknowledge him as such. Until then, we wish our (former) captain the best of luck out west.
Enjoy him, Vancouver. You’re getting a good one.
Photo by danger.beard from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.