Pension Plan Puppets

Maple Leafs Fan Cheering Guide - Feb. 10th

2012-02-10T21:03:27Z

Last night wasn't just bad for the Leafs, it was apocalypticly bad. Every single matchup went counter to what would have best benefited the Leafs most, with only the Blues winning in overtime being the one slightly good thing by taking a point away from Jersey. What a shitty night. Tonight will be different however. Different because the outcomes of tonight's games have little to no impact on the Leafs' Playoffs hopes, thus it's possible for things to go wrong! Huzzah!

Dallas Stars (+0.2) at Buffalo Sabres (-0.2)

West Coast is the best coast.

Carolina Hurricanes (0.0) at Colorado Avalanche (0.0)

This one's easy. Cheer for a Colorado win so they don't end up giving Washington a lottery pick at the draft.

Mats Sundin Memory # 7 - Leading By Example

2012-02-10T20:01:09Z

We're back in 2001 for # 7. This time, we're at game two of the series which was one of the wilder Leafs-Devils playoffs games and a harbinger of the post-lockout shootouts.

Aki Berg and Cory Cross undo an amazing comeback

This was a chance for the Leafs to take a 2-0 lead in New Jersey on the team that had eliminated them the year before. Unfortunately, they were in the process of laying an egg. This is a funny game because I hadn't thought of it as a memory, Eyebleaf did, but as soon as he brought it up I remembered all of the details (or almost, I forgot they went down 5-2 after narrowing the gap to 4-2). We had some family friends over and were in the process of telling them that they were never allowed to come over for a game again (They were offended if you can believe it. They were the ones costing the Leafs the game) and before we knew it we were all jumping and screaming around the living room during the insane third period. Incidentally, the Leafs would eventually fall to the eventual Stanley Cup Finalists in seven games. Sigh, what might have been.

Flashback to the spring of 2001. I'm sure you remember this game: Toronto's in New Jersey, it's the playoffs, game two of the 2001 semifinals against the Devils. The Leafs are down 4-1 after two periods, and are eventually down 5-2 in the third period, before they storm back to send the game to overtime, where they eventually lose. Forget about the loss, and the goal by Randy McKay, though. None of that matters. Not anymore. I want you to think of the third period, when Sundin was a man on a mission; when Mats led his team like he never had before. Sundin registered three points in that fateful third period, two goals and an assist, and he was on the ice when Steve Thomas tied the game with only 23 seconds left on the clock.

Down 4-1 when the third period began, Sundin scored early, 30 seconds into the period. And when the Leafs on the ice skated into their customary group hug to celebrate the goal, Sundin was fiery. As fiery as I'd ever seen him before. Sundin wasn't interested in celebrating his goal. He was interested in telling his teammates that the game was far from over, that he would see to it himself that the game wasn't over. The Leafs were going to come back, and Sundin would take them where they needed to go. And come back the Leafs did. I'll never forget Sundin's reaction in that scrum with his teammates. Sundin was a leader. He proved it. The moment is vivid in my memory, and almost a microcosm of Sundin's career in Toronto. He pulled his weight, he pulled his guys with him, but, for some reason, it was just never enough.

Mats Sundin Memory # 8 - Dusting The Senators

2012-02-10T19:01:06Z

It wouldn't be a series of memories about a Maple Leaf that played for the team during the late 90s and early 00s without at least one Ottawa Senators related memory. This one came when I was still high school.

Four buddies and I managed to quickly form a group and with the help of the school's computers were bought five tickets for game one in Ottawa. When one dropped out we replaced him with another big Leafs fan: my dad. We made the drive down decked in blue and white, painted our faces and hair in the Corel Centre, and we end up on HNIC in one of those throws to commercial along with one other lost, really drunk, Leafs fan.

As for the game itself, it's mostly controlled by the Senators. They have by far the most scoring chances but luckily Cujo is in fine form and the Senators, as was their wont during those years, blew any number of chances. The game headed to overtime tied at zeroes and then...

It's Friday, April 13, 2001. It's overtime of game one of the first round, the score's 0-0, Leafs and Senators, a re-match of the spring before. Sundin's got the puck at the Ottawa blue line. Sundin fakes a slapshot. The camera moves. Sundin fires, for real this time. "PING!" Off the pipe and in. The Leafs win 1-0. The Leafs sweep the Senators 4-0. Of all the overtime goals Sundin scored as a Maple Leaf, I'm not sure there was a sweeter one than that.

Mats Sundin Memory # 9 - Captain Clutch

2012-02-10T18:00:29Z

For the next two days, we're running 13 of our top memories of Mats Sundin as a Maple Leaf. There are more to choose from but Sundin captaining Sweden to Gold in 2006 and his years as a Nordique won't make an appearance on the list. For help, I enlisted Mats Sundin's biggest fan Eyebleaf to help come up with and number the list. It's far from exhaustive and your mileage may vary on our choices but these were the 13 that came immediately into our minds so consider it a small token of our appreciation for one of the greatest Leafs of all-time.

This one is focused on one particular goal but it really could just be about how Sundin was the player that the Maple Leafs could count on when they needed him most. Sundin is tied for the most overtime goals (15) and I just found out (thanks Wikipedia) that Mario Lemieux, Mark Messier, and Gordie Howe never scored one in overtime. I'd feel better if I read that in the Encyclopedia Britannica but it'll have to do.

Is it Ironic that the memory comes from a game which the Leafs ultimately lost? Or that Tomas Kaberle passed up an open shot before finally throwing it on net? Anyway, this one is a pretty vivid memory. I was living with my dearly departed uncle that Spring and Summer and as the team looked headed to a loss he went to bed in frustration. Of course, he did this a lot but he secretly went to watch the game in his bedroom because as much as the Leafs drove him insane he was a die hard fan. Meanwhile, I retreated to the television in the basement where I watched the last five minutes about five feet from the television in a nervous crouch praying for a miracle.

I wasn't able to scrounge up enough pennies to see game six (I had been to game two which the Leafs also lost in overtime 2-1) but my cousin had actually been lucky enough to go to the game. As the seconds ticked away, I tensed with every shot on goal and nervously glanced at the clock willing the team to tie the game. When the puck finally went in and Sundin had extended the Leafs' season I yelled so loudly I almost lost my voice and punched the ceiling as I exploded out of my crouch. My dad called his brother to see if he had seen the goal (of course he had) and he told him that if he hadn't he would have been able to guess what had happened based on the commotion I was creating. My cousin had to call me from the smokers area because the ACC was roaring. Even outside I could barely hear her over the din of the crowd. Sadly, they lost in overtime on a brutal giveaway and the dream of a trip to the Final was dead for another year but not before Mats provided one more memory. And of course, Joe Bowen nailed the call:

Down 1-0 against the Carolina Hurricanes in game six of the 2006 Eastern Conference Finals, trailing 3-2 in the series, their season on the line, Mats Sundin scored with 21.8 seconds left on the clock to tie the game, and send it to overtime. Joe Bowen, after the goal, without much of a voice left, yelled: "Don't tell me about heart, and dedication, and resilience; this is unbelievable!" Again: another moment I'll never forget. When the Toronto Maple Leafs needed a goal, it was of course Mats Sundin who scored it. Captain clutch.

Mats Sundin Memory # 10 - Crestfallen Captain

2012-02-10T17:01:35Z

Scandinavians are known for a lot of things: drinking a lot (true), beautiful blondes (very true), and being pretty reserved emotionally (that's what they say anyway). In Mats Sundin's tenure as captain of the Maple Leafs, that perception is what often kept media and fans from fawning over him to the extent that he likely would have received in other cities. My favourite remark by MF37 is that if he had been born in Kelvington, Saskatchewan there'd be a statue of him in Toronto.

While that was the perception, I don't think it takes much scratching beneath the surface to see just how much Mats wanted to win and just how much he came to appreciate the fans eventual warming to him in the twilight of his career in Toronto. He wasn't one for displaying raw emotions. His cool demeanour was often interpreted as aloofness (he'd have been enigmatic if he was Russian) but it just showed how much he mastered every aspect of his performance.

This one is purely Eyebleaf's memory since I had to listen to this game on the radio on a trip back from a high school cricket game. All 13 of us crowded around a static-y portable radio to listen in to one of the most heartbreaking games in recent Leafs' playoff history.

One of the more painful memories I have of Sundin is of the Toronto captain sitting on the Leafs bench, another playoff exit moments away, tears in his eyes. If my memory serves me correctly, it was the night the Leafs mustered a pathetic six shots as they were eliminated by the New Jersey Devils. I'll never forget that shot of Sundin on the bench. I hope you don't, either. Sundin cared. Sundin wanted to win. He was never as physical or as emotional as most fans would have liked him to be - as emotional and physical as Doug Gilmour and Wendel Clark - but I will argue until my death that Sundin wanted to win just as badly as those captains before him.

Mats Sundin Memory # 11 - Memories And Dreams

2012-02-10T16:01:36Z

For the next two days, we're running 13 of our top memories of Mats Sundin as a Maple Leaf. There are more to choose from but Sundin captaining Sweden to Gold in 2006 and his years as a Nordique won't make an appearance on the list. For help, I enlisted Mats Sundin's biggest fan Eyebleaf to help come up with and number the list. It's far from exhaustive and your mileage may vary on our choices but these were the 13 that came immediately into our minds so consider it a small token of our appreciation for one of the greatest Leafs of all-time.

This entry is another that's heavy with symbolism although it does invite certain unwanted comparisons to the Auld Enemy Montreal. While they had a continuous period of success and recognisable names traversing the years to carry their closing ceremony from beginning to end, the Leafs had a long stretch of mostly dark ages before the torch passed to his hands.

Eyebleaf with les mots juste and a video after the jump.

Start the video at 6:17 or click here

The ceremony might have been tacky as hell, but when Toronto played their final game at Maple Leaf Gardens on Feb. 13, 1999, and moved to the Air Canada Centre, it was truly the end of an era. It was Sundin who took the torch passed on to him, and Sundin who led the Leafs to their new home. I can still see him waving that flag, passed on to him by Red Horner. It said "Memories and Dreams." Sundin gave us both.

Mats Sundin Memory # 12 - Six Point Night To Preserve The Playoffs!!1 Dream

2012-02-10T15:01:52Z

Before, during, and after the 2004-2005 NHL lockout, John Ferguson Jr. misjudged any number of changes. Part of that was no doubt due to his inability to sell the MLSE board on his plan to rebuild the Maple Leafs through divesting themselves of a number of veteran players and putting a renewed emphasis on youth and player development. The other part was that he was an awful General Manager.

He did have one major thing going in his favour: Mats Sundin. And in the midst of the run to eighth place, Sundin had his best regular season game ever to keep the Leafs in a race in which they'd ultimately fall two points short.

The Leafs woke up on April 11, 2006 in 10th place. They were chasing the Tampa Bay Lightning for the final spot. The Florida Panthers came to the ACC on April 11, 2006 which was a Tuesday. As you can imagine, a Southeast Division team mid-week looked to be the death knell for the Maple Leafs except that Mats Sundin was having none of that laying around stuff. Over to Eyebleaf:

In April 2006, with his team battling for a playoff spot, Sundin notched a six-point night - four goals and two assists - in a 6-5 overtime victory over the Florida Panthers. The game was, again, a microcosm of Sundin's career. He did it all, with little help, and the Leafs always ended up a little short.

Mats Sundin Memory # 13 - Alexander Mogilny Leads Leafs In Scoring

2012-02-10T14:01:28Z

For the next two days, we're running 13 of our top memories of Mats Sundin as a Maple Leaf. There are more to choose from but Sundin captaining Sweden to Gold in 2006 and his years as a Nordique won't make an appearance on the list. For help, I enlisted Mats Sundin's biggest fan Eyebleaf to help come up with and number the list. It's far from exhaustive and your mileage may vary on our choices but these were the 13 that came immediately into our minds so consider it a small token of our appreciation for one of the greatest Leafs of all-time.

In the 2002-2003 season Alexander Mogilny lead the Maple Leafs in scoring. This is obviously an odd choice for a list of memories of Mats Sundin but there is a method to our madness. It highlights a theme that you will no doubt remember from his career that will make numerous appearances on our list.

This is a video of highlights from the 2002-2003 season. For all of the talk of Mats Sundin's inept linemates what is lost is that for a couple of seasons he formed a pairing to rival Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul. After signing with the Leafs Alexander Mogilny slotted on Mats Sundin's line and the results were about what you'd expect. The first four goals in that video show the chemistry the two shared. But why pick this memory? Well, I'll let Eyebleaf take over:

Alexander Mogilny led the Toronto Maple Leafs in scoring during the 2002/2003 season. What does that have to do with Mats Sundin? It was the only season during Sundin's time in Toronto that he wasn't Toronto leading scorer. Sundin finished with 72 points to Mogilny's 79, and missed eight games. Throughout all his years in Toronto, Sundin always played more than 70 games, and always scored 70 points or more. Fiercely loyal, and remarkably consistent. That's how you should remember Mats Sundin.