Former Toronto Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin is back in town while his old team conducts its pre-season training camp, but he insists no one should read too much into his presence.
The native of Bromma, Sweden, said he was at camp on invitation from the club and played down the notion he’d be getting more involved with the team.
“We’ll see, in the future,” he said.
Sundin said he’d be in Toronto until Sunday, but the 53-year-old could find himself heading back to Toronto if the man now wearing the “C” eclipses his club goals record.
“Obviously, Auston (Matthews) is gonna beat my record, whether it’s this year or next year,” said the Hall of Famer, who played for the Blue and White from 1994 to 2008 and holds the current record of 420 goals with the Maple Leafs. “And that’s the way it’s supposed to be.”
Matthews, who took over the captaincy from teammate John Tavares in August, is sitting at 368, after putting up 69 last season — a number not seen since Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux scored that many in the 1995-96 season for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Former Leaf captain Darryl Sittler sits between Matthews and Sundin, at 389. Barring injury, Matthews has a good chance of eclipsing both before the playoffs begin next spring.
Sundin, who is 26th on the NHL’s all-time goals list with 564 in 1,346 games, had nothing but praise for the current group of Maple Leafs (“You look at the team Toronto has right now, it’s arguably the most talented ever, I think,”) but was quick to dismiss the importance of his Leafs record.
“Goals records is such a small thing,” said Sundin. “It’s getting a team to try and win a championship.”