TORONTO \u2014 The fact that Mats Sundin flew from Sweden to Toronto to help honour Auston Matthews\u2019 accomplishment of becoming the Maple Leafs franchise leader in goals scored tugged on the current captain\u2019s heartstrings.<\/p>\n
Matthews passed the former captain with two goals on the road against the New York Islanders on Saturday and added another with Sundin watching live in the Maple Leafs 4-1 win against the defending Stanley Cup-champion Florida Panthers at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Sundin was part of a pre-game ceremony to honour Matthews, moments after the recent passing of four-time Stanley Cup champion with the Maple Leafs, 89-year-old Bob Pulford, was also acknowledged with a scoreboard tribute.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/WMNMSIVFBFCZ5CHODIOLF22QQI.JPG\")
Matthews and Sundin Former Toronto Maple Leafs player Mats Sundin, left, congratulates Auston Matthews (34) on becoming the all-time franchise leader in goals prior to first period NHL hockey action against the Florida Panthers in Toronto on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Frank Gunn <\/p>\n
\u201cAll of it means a lot,\u201d the 28-year-old Matthews said. \u201cIt\u2019s special to wear this jersey. It\u2019s an absolute honour. And you know, to have Mats come in, to have so many players before us that have paved the way and worn this jersey is very special, and I\u2019m very appreciative.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Hockey Hall of Famer Sundin scored 420 goals in 981 games with Toronto, while Matthews managed his 422nd in his 665th outing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought it would take a few more years, but he\u2019s a great goal scorer,\u201d Sundin said with a smile. \u201cKidding aside, records are made to be broken, and what a treat for the Maple Leafs fan base to have a superstar like Auston, one of the league\u2019s absolute premier players and an even better person.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a great leader. The way he handles the hardest hockey market in Toronto, representing the Maple Leafs. He does it with grace, and I\u2019m very glad for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toronto fourth-line centre Scott Laughton, who played 3:10 of the final 4:02 in the Maple Leafs\u2019 latest victory, grew up a Toronto fan. He always enjoys meeting alumni like Sundin.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s cool seeing them on the ice and being around,\u201d Laughton said. \u201cYou see the guys around, like Darcy (Tucker), that\u2019s what it\u2019s all about. That\u2019s what makes the organization what it is. And it\u2019s special.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beating the champs<\/p>\n
This was the Panthers\u2019 first trip back to Toronto since they demolished the Maple Leafs 6-1 in Game 7 of the second round of playoffs on May 18.<\/p>\n
The Maple Leafs have claimed both meetings this season.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/YRAYNAEUTVDN5MC67KOVXZ3O24.JPG\")
Easton Cowan Toronto Maple Leafs’ Easton Cowan (53) celebrates his goal against the Florida Panthers during first period NHL hockey action in Toronto on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Frank Gunn <\/p>\n
\u201cYou create rivals against these teams, playing them in the playoffs last year,\u201d Toronto head coach Craig Berube said. \u201cSimilar to when Ottawa (Senators) came in here (on Dec. 27). Those games are intense, and they\u2019re going to be intense.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that when you play Florida, you\u2019ve got to match their physicality. You know how they\u2019re coming at you all night, right? That\u2019s the way they play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toronto of Florida?<\/p>\n
Super-pest Brad Marchand did not play in the third period. He was kept out for \u201cprecautionary reasons,\u201d although he appeared to be walking around with no difficulty after the game.<\/p>\n
He revealed earlier in the day that he considered signing as a free agent with the Maple Leafs last summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was between Florida and Toronto where I was going to go. I never thought it was going to be possible to re-sign with Florida. I really didn\u2019t.\u201c<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 7, 2026.<\/p>\n
Tim Wharnsby, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO \u2014 The fact that Mats Sundin flew from Sweden to Toronto to help honour Auston Matthews\u2019 accomplishment…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":394230,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-394229","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=394229"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394229\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/394230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=394229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=394229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=394229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}