And Sundin's reception is...?

Regardless of how you feel about Sundin’s refusal to waive his no trade-clause, or whether you believe he was even the best Leaf ever, Mats Sundin deserves your applause during his inevitable honoring during his return to Toronto tonight.

Listen, I’m with a lot of you. I’m very bitter that Sundin stayed in Toronto on the basis that he didn’t want to be a rental player, and ended up becoming one. But let’s not forget all he did for the franchise over the years. Many of his peers have told about his sacrifice and determination while playing for the Leafs. Many of those sacrifices might prove to be surprising to you, and I’m sure there are many more actions Sundin has taken that we don’t appreciate because we’ll never hear of them.

Either way, yes it sucks that he didn’t help the franchise when it needed it most. Yes, it’s awful that he left Toronto the way he did. But let us never forget the excellence he brought to our team over the time he was here. He never bitched, he never complained, and he never backed down from the criticism that was most of the time undeserved from the media and Toronto’s fans.

Don’t get me wrong, I really wish he would’ve waived. I personally think it would have been his most honorable move as a Leaf to move when he least wanted to. And I would have cheered him for it.

But at the end of the day, Sundin did what was within his rights. It’s not his fault that the Leafs have had terrible ownership and management for such a long time. Not many of us would have fallen on their sword the way Mats would have had to do at the deadline, so relax a bit on his return.

Cheer him on his return, and realize what he did for us while he was here. Could he have done more? Of course. But not many would. And that’s why I believe Mats Sundin will never be remembered as the “greatest Leaf ever”. He’s one of them, to be sure, but he will never solidify himself as THE best ever, although he might have if he has only sacrificed himself for the franchise.