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June 28: On this day in 1923, Gaye Stewart was born in Fort William, Ontario. Stewart's NHL debut was with the Leafs in the 1942 Finals and he was part of the Cup-winning team. The next season, he won the Calder trophy as rookie of the year. Stewart, along with Bud Poile and Gus Bodnar played on a line nicknamed the "Flyin' Forts Line" because all three players hailed from Fort William, Ontario. Gaye Stewart won another Cup with the Leafs in 1947 but the next season he was part of a multi-player package the Leafs sent to Chicago to obtain superstar Max Bentley. As of the 2007-08 season, Stewart was the last Leaf to lead the NHL in goals scored in a single season when he netted 37 in 1945-46.
June 28: On this day in 1994, the Leafs conducted one of the biggest trades in team history when they gave up their captain and former 1st overall draft choice Wendel Clark along with Sylvain Lefebvre, Landon Wilson and a pick in exchange for future Leafs captain Mats Sundin along with Garth Butcher, Todd Warriner and a pick. The grand prize was Mats Sundin who went on to become the Leafs all-time points scoring leader in October, 2007.
Some Mats facts:
Mats Sundin was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques with their 1st pick, 1st overall, in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft. At the time he was playing in the Swedish tier two league. He was the first European-born player drafted first overall in NHL history. Sundin made his NHL debut with Quebec during the 1990-91 NHL season, finishing second on the team behind Joe Sakic with 59 points. Sundin led the Nordiques with 114 points in 1992-93. During his time in Quebec, Sundin was considered one of the league's top young players. In June of 2004, Sundin was traded along with Garth Butcher, Todd Warriner and a first round draft pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Wendel Clark, Sylvain Lefebvre, Landon Wilson and a 1994 1st round pick. A whole new era of Sundin's career was about to begin in Toronto. Sundin became the 16th Maple Leafs captain in 1997, becoming the first European player in Maple Leaf history to hold that honour. He is the second-longest active serving captain in the NHL, next to Joe Sakic of the Colorado Avalanche. He is the longest serving non-North American born captain in NHL history. Sundin is the only player in the NHL to have scored at least 70 points (excluding lock-out shortened season in 1994-95) in each of the last 13 seasons. He has also played at least 70 games in every full length NHL season of his career. Sundin has led the Leafs in points in every year he has been with the team except 2002-03, when Alexander Mogilny beat him by 7 points. At the end of the 2006-07 NHL season, Sundin is only one goal away from tying Darryl Sittler's record for career goals as a Maple Leaf with 389, and 7 points away from tying the record for career points as a Maple Leaf (916), also held by Sittler.
Some Mats facts:
Mats Sundin was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques with their 1st pick, 1st overall, in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft. At the time he was playing in the Swedish tier two league. He was the first European-born player drafted first overall in NHL history. Sundin made his NHL debut with Quebec during the 1990-91 NHL season, finishing second on the team behind Joe Sakic with 59 points. Sundin led the Nordiques with 114 points in 1992-93. During his time in Quebec, Sundin was considered one of the league's top young players. In June of 2004, Sundin was traded along with Garth Butcher, Todd Warriner and a first round draft pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Wendel Clark, Sylvain Lefebvre, Landon Wilson and a 1994 1st round pick. A whole new era of Sundin's career was about to begin in Toronto. Sundin became the 16th Maple Leafs captain in 1997, becoming the first European player in Maple Leaf history to hold that honour. He is the second-longest active serving captain in the NHL, next to Joe Sakic of the Colorado Avalanche. He is the longest serving non-North American born captain in NHL history. Sundin is the only player in the NHL to have scored at least 70 points (excluding lock-out shortened season in 1994-95) in each of the last 13 seasons. He has also played at least 70 games in every full length NHL season of his career. Sundin has led the Leafs in points in every year he has been with the team except 2002-03, when Alexander Mogilny beat him by 7 points. At the end of the 2006-07 NHL season, Sundin is only one goal away from tying Darryl Sittler's record for career goals as a Maple Leaf with 389, and 7 points away from tying the record for career points as a Maple Leaf (916), also held by Sittler.
