He takes after his mom all right...
In case you hadn't heard, or don't live in Toronto, or just manage to not pay any attention to the Leafs whatsoever, this past Saturday, Mats Sundin returned to Toronto to play against the Leafs for the first time since joining the Vancouver Canucks a month or so ago.
Sundin played here for 13 seasons and for much of those 13 seasons was really the only bright spot of the Leafs. He was their leader and he really lived up to that, often hauling the Leafs into a win seemingly by himself. And despite the lack of help he was given over the years, he loved playing here. Last summer, he was asked to wave his no-trade clause (something often given to long-time vets of a team as a 'reward' for their service) so that the Leafs could start their rebuilding process (hah!). Sundin didn't want to leave, and fans (and press) started vilifiying him for his decision, saying that he wasn't a team player and he shouldn't let the team down and should help them rebuild. Why he should be the one to fix all of the Leafs' management mistakes, I have no idea... But the long and the short of it was, Sundin didn't return to the Leafs. He wasn't traded, he just walked away, and eventually found himself as a Vancouver Canuck.
On Saturday, the culmination of a week's media frenzy finally played out. The Leaf fans didn't boo Mats, in fact, they gave him a standing ovation at one point that pretty much reduced the normally stoic Sundin to tears before a faceoff. It was at this point, that Jet noticed they were talking about Mats a lot on the tv (note, Jet doesn't really watch hockey. He knows we watch it Saturday night, and he puts up with that, but he doesn't really pay attention to it).
"Is he hurt?" Jet immediately inquired about Sundin's status.
"No honey, he's playing for another team now, and this is the first time he's back here playing against the Leafs".
Jet paused a moment to let this sink in... "You mean, he's not a Maple Leaf anymore?"
"No, Mats plays for the Vancouver Canucks now."
"My favourite player isn't part of my favourite team anymore?" (note that Mats is pretty much the ONLY player Jet knows...)
"No, he's not."
Jet's face began to crumple and he announced "I'm going into my room and I'm going to cry because my favourite player isn't a Leaf anymore!"
We thought he was joking, as he crawled into the fort he'd made, using a couple of blankets and the space under Graig's legs and the coffee table, but after a moment, we realized he was honestly sobbing about this...
"Jet, are you crying?"
"Yes! I'm sad about Mats Sundin!"
"But honey, hockey players get traded, that's what happens." We didn't bother explaining the real reason why Mats left.
"But I want Mats to be a Leaf!"
"Well, at least your favourite player is still playing hockey, mine isn't."
"I don't care!"
He cried for a little longer, eventually coming out and being a generally surly little bugger for awhile, even bursting into tears again at one point when he explained the situation to his uncle. And I admit, we laughed a bit, mainly out of incredulousness that he was this upset over something he really doesn't pay attention to, but I think I laughed in order to stave tears of my own off, cause there have been numerous times my love of the game of hockey has reduced me to tears so I did understand where Jet was coming from.
We've told him he can pick a new favourite Leaf, but he doesn't seem to really want to. Understandable again really.
Sundin played here for 13 seasons and for much of those 13 seasons was really the only bright spot of the Leafs. He was their leader and he really lived up to that, often hauling the Leafs into a win seemingly by himself. And despite the lack of help he was given over the years, he loved playing here. Last summer, he was asked to wave his no-trade clause (something often given to long-time vets of a team as a 'reward' for their service) so that the Leafs could start their rebuilding process (hah!). Sundin didn't want to leave, and fans (and press) started vilifiying him for his decision, saying that he wasn't a team player and he shouldn't let the team down and should help them rebuild. Why he should be the one to fix all of the Leafs' management mistakes, I have no idea... But the long and the short of it was, Sundin didn't return to the Leafs. He wasn't traded, he just walked away, and eventually found himself as a Vancouver Canuck.
On Saturday, the culmination of a week's media frenzy finally played out. The Leaf fans didn't boo Mats, in fact, they gave him a standing ovation at one point that pretty much reduced the normally stoic Sundin to tears before a faceoff. It was at this point, that Jet noticed they were talking about Mats a lot on the tv (note, Jet doesn't really watch hockey. He knows we watch it Saturday night, and he puts up with that, but he doesn't really pay attention to it).
"Is he hurt?" Jet immediately inquired about Sundin's status.
"No honey, he's playing for another team now, and this is the first time he's back here playing against the Leafs".
Jet paused a moment to let this sink in... "You mean, he's not a Maple Leaf anymore?"
"No, Mats plays for the Vancouver Canucks now."
"My favourite player isn't part of my favourite team anymore?" (note that Mats is pretty much the ONLY player Jet knows...)
"No, he's not."
Jet's face began to crumple and he announced "I'm going into my room and I'm going to cry because my favourite player isn't a Leaf anymore!"
We thought he was joking, as he crawled into the fort he'd made, using a couple of blankets and the space under Graig's legs and the coffee table, but after a moment, we realized he was honestly sobbing about this...
"Jet, are you crying?"
"Yes! I'm sad about Mats Sundin!"
"But honey, hockey players get traded, that's what happens." We didn't bother explaining the real reason why Mats left.
"But I want Mats to be a Leaf!"
"Well, at least your favourite player is still playing hockey, mine isn't."
"I don't care!"
He cried for a little longer, eventually coming out and being a generally surly little bugger for awhile, even bursting into tears again at one point when he explained the situation to his uncle. And I admit, we laughed a bit, mainly out of incredulousness that he was this upset over something he really doesn't pay attention to, but I think I laughed in order to stave tears of my own off, cause there have been numerous times my love of the game of hockey has reduced me to tears so I did understand where Jet was coming from.
We've told him he can pick a new favourite Leaf, but he doesn't seem to really want to. Understandable again really.