Legends Row welcomes Sundin, Salming
Ex-Leafs captain, defenceman immortalized in bronze
How do you say thank you for a pair of tremendous careers from Maple Leaf legends Mats Sundin and Borje Salming? You say it in bronze. Both of the mighty Swedes — who helped shape almost four decades of Leaf hockey — were immortalized Saturday with the unveiling of their bronze statues on Legends Row.
The rainy weather held out long enough for hundreds of Leafs fans and season ticket-holders to show their appreciation for Sundin and Salming, and that fan support certainly touched an emotional cord with both players.
“Toronto has been treating me like this from Day 1 until now, and I haven’t been playing hockey for 30 years now, so this is fantastic,” Salming said.
“It’s tough to take it all in when you’re a player, but these great Leafs fans, supporting this franchise over the years, and all these legends and now myself, it’s a huge honour but tough to describe,” added Sundin, as the two Swedes joined the bronzed likenesses of Johnny Bower, Ted Kennedy, and Darryl Sittler.
(Syl Apps and George Armstrong statues will be unveiled during the Hall of Fame weekend in November).
Sundin had admitted to being shocked when he was drafted first overall by the former Quebec Nordiques in1989, then playing four baptismal years in the NHL before joining the Leafs. Upon his arrival in Toronto after a famous trade that sent Wendel Clark to Quebec, Sundin took some sound advice from Salming that would last throughout his 13 seaons with the Leafs, 11 of them as captain.
“Up north in Sweden, I was at a hockey camp that Borje hosted, now its full circle . . . almost scary,” Sundin said about the first time he’d heard he was traded to the Leafs.
“The biggest advice from Borje was . . . he said you’ll enjoy playing for the Leafs. Then he said about the Leafs (captaincy) — embrace it, and he kind of regretted it because he had a chance to be captain too (and didn’t take it).”
The two players posed with their respective families — wives, parents, children — before their likenesses, both of them forged by Chicago-area artist Erik Blome.
When they were introduced, both players walked through a gauntlet of adoring fans, a further symbol of the everlasting fan support the franchise has enjoyed as it enters its 99th season as the Leafs.
The Leafs sent the front office trio of president Brendan Shanahan, general managaer Lou Lamoriello and coach Mike Babcock, who are now entrusted with the task of restoring Stanley Cup hopes to Toronto.
Salming thanked his Maple Leaf contemporaries — Sittler and Tiger Williams — while Sundin greeted former teammate Tie Domi with a long embrace. Current Leafs Dion Phaneuf, James van Riemsdyk and P.A. Parenteau also took in the ceremony.
The link between the glorious pasts of both Swedes and the present, where the franchise is promising a return to glory through a patient rebuild, was unmistakable.
“Brendan Shanahan is doing the right thing, building the franchise through the draft, just give them some time, they will be a great team eventually,” Sundin said.
“I have no advice,” Salming said, “I just hope the Cup comes back here to Toronto.”
The immortalized pair posed before their statues for a swarm of media, then motioned for their families and friends to join them.
The statues prompted the two Swedes to joke about themselves, now that they are larger-than-life bronze figures.
“I think my nose is a little crooked, but it’s a nice look,” said a smiling Salming, who received more than 200 stitches for a cut inflicted during a game with Detroit back in the 1980s.
“I wanted them to show the Jofa helmet,” laughed Sundin, referring to the Jofa helmet he wore early on before turning to the CCM model he would wear for most of his career.
“Just kidding . . . it’s a great look and I hope (the fans) can be proud of it.”
Blome said he spends about six months preparing a statue. He studied video of both players before setting to his craft.
“The interesting thing about Sundin is the quirky way he wears his knee pads, they seemed really big, like they were sticking out … I thought it was a wrap of tape at first,” Blome said.
“I really enjoyed working on Sundin, he looks so physically menacing when he’s skating down the ice. With Borje, I didn’t want to make that great gash he had (after being cut for the stitches). I did something and you’ll see it, but he only had (the scar) for a short time. I hope (the statue) is a good look for him.”
As Sundin motioned for wife Josephine, daughter Bonnie (age 3), son Nathaniel (10 months), father Tommy and mother Gunilla to join him,
For his part, Blome took it all in with the reserved smile of a master artist.
Like the fans and Leafs management, he looked toward the future.
“Hopefully, I can do a couple of Blue Jays statues too,” he said.