Records are made to be broken, and Mats Sundin was in town to celebrate Auston Matthews’ accomplishment on Tuesday. Matthews surpassed Sundin on January 3 to become the Toronto Maple Leafs’ all-time goals leader.

Toronto honoured Matthews with a pre-game ceremony, where Sundin met Matthews at centre ice. During the first intermission, Sundin met with reporters in the Foster Hewitt Media Gondola to celebrate Matthews’ accomplishment, and field general questions about the team’s history, among other topics.

“I think it’s important when there’s history being made and records being broken,” Sundin said. “Being a Maple Leaf, it’s so special for me. And I think I can relate to where Auston Matthews is, in his career at this point. It’s kind of exciting to get it over with it, because he has more important things to think about: winning games, winning hockey games for the Leafs. But it was important, and I felt that I wanted to be here.”

Sundin said he was invited by Leafs’ management to attend training camp and mainly keeps in touch with the team through Max Domi, the son of Mats’ former Leafs’ teammate, Tie Domi. And it’s clear that Sundin has been more than impressed with the way Matthews handles the 24-7 news cycle attached to the Maple Leafs.

“I thought it was going to take a few more years!” Sundin exclaimed, when asked when he had a premonition about Matthews breaking his record. “He’s a great goal-scorer. Kidding aside, records are made to be broken. What a treat for the Toronto Maple Leafs fan base to have a superstar like Auston, one of the game’s absolute premier players. And he’s an even better person. Great leader, the way he handles the hardest hockey market in Toronto.”

There’s innate attention that comes with the Maple Leafs’ captaincy, and Sundin expanded upon the role.

“For me, the direction of the Toronto Maple Leafs is very special. The players don’t understand what it means to wear the Blue and White. It’s great. It’s the hockey capital of the world. A lot of people care about the team, but at the same time, it is a lot of added pressure. There is a lot more dealing with the media, and the fan base. It’s a little bit tougher than playing in a market like Florida or Tampa or somewhere else. The way he handles that is very impressive. He handles everything around the ice, and he’s also outstanding, one of the league’s top players on top of that.”

Sundin and Matthews will likely be extricably linked as captains of the Maple Leafs with longstanding ties to the larger civic community. It’s clear that Sundin is very proud of Matthews, and be willing to celebrate more of his career accomplishments as Toronto’s current captain ascends through the record books.

Take $20 off your first Vivid Seats order of $200+ using promo code LEAFSNATION (new customers only, $200 USD minimum before taxes & fees)