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Swedes In Stereo; Sundin Joins Salming On Legend’s Row |
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The Toronto Maple Leafs revealed at an event for season ticket holders at Air Canada Center on Thursday that the bronze statue honoring Hall of Fame defenseman Borje Salming that is to be revealed this weekend will be accompanied by the unveiling of a monument for countryman and fellow Hockey Hall of Famer Mats Sundin.
Sundin spent 13 seasons in Toronto and is the club’s all-time leading scorer, with 420 goals and 567 assists. The 1989 top pick was acquired by the Leafs in the summer of 1994 from Quebec in a six-player deal that included Wendel Clark, took over as team captain in 1997 when Doug Gilmour was traded to New Jersey and served for 11 years until his departure in 2008.
“Legends Row is an important tribute to the many generations of Toronto Maple Leafs history and Mats Sundin is a player that the most recent generations of Leafs fans remember with great fondness,” said Toronto Maple Leafs President Brendan Shanahan in a press release. “Mats was a player that embodied tremendous talent, great desire and consistent performance year in and year out. He represented this city, and this franchise, with great pride and class. We will be thrilled to see his statue unveiled on Saturday.”
The announcement of Sundin increases the number of players honored on Legend’s Row to seven. Hockey Hall of Famers Ted Kennedy, Darryl Sittler and Johnny Bower have already been immortalized at the monument located in Maple Leaf Square, Salming and Sundin’s statues will be revealed during the club’s second annual Fan Fest on Saturday and bronze replicas of Leaf greats Syl Apps and George Armstrong will be unveiled on Saturday, November 8th, during the 2015 Hockey Hall of Fame induction weekend.
“It was a great privilege to serve as captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs and that experience will always go down as a career highlight for me. To be honoured with a statue on Legends Row is something I could never have imagined,” Sundin said. “To see my statue unveiled alongside Borje Salming, the player I grew up idolizing in Sweden, will be very special for both my family and me. I am very grateful to the Toronto Maple Leafs, to the city of Toronto, and especially to the fans, for the opportunity to represent this team and for this honor.”
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