Sittler Congratulates Sundin For Becoming Leafs All-Time Scoring Leader

It was a phrase Mats Sundin heard a lot in the hours after he passed Darryl Sittler to become the leading goal and points man in Toronto Maple Leafs history Thursday night: “Congratulations, Mats.”

It came from teammates, opposing players, fans, friends and family, but it’s likely none of the praise was more appreciated by Toronto ‘s captain than when those very words came during a call from the man whose place he took as the greatest offensive Leaf ever.

Sittler called Sundin from Florida Thursday night, and the big Swede appreciated the long-distance pat on the back after breaking the 25-year-old record.

“It was very nice of him,” he said the morning after making club history during Toronto ‘s 8-1 romp over the New York Islanders.

Sundin saved the puck and stick used in the milestone score, but still played down the feat, suggesting he wanted to focus on helping the hot-and-cold Leafs win games during a critical early stretch of the season.

“It’s nice to have it out of the way,” Sundin said of the club records. “The respect I got from the crowd, I’ll remember that for the rest of my life.

“It was a great moment and now we’ll move on.”

They’ll move on to face the Pittsburgh Penguins, whose Sidney Crosby will likely smash a few scoring records of his own before his career concludes.

Even in his 12th season with Toronto at the age of 36, Sundin still shows flashes of dominance and leads the club in scoring on the young season with two goals and six assists. He’s had at least 70 points in every full season in Toronto .

Leafs Top 10 All-Time Scorers