October 1, 2009.
Ron Wilson has gone on record today saying that the Toronto Maple Leafs will start the season with three alternate captains: Tomas Kaberle, Mike Komisarek, and Francois Beauchemin. The coach went on to say that the next permanent captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs is to be named as early as November if the deserving candidate did in fact emerge. One name that surprised some Leaf fans by not being on the list was sophomore Luke Schenn. As soon as Luke was drafted we labeled him the next captain, but I guess Wilson doesn't feel the same way. It should be interesting to see how the captaincy plays out as the Leafs start the season tomorrow against bitter rivals the Montreal Canadiens who ironically enough, are also starting the season without a captain.
Mats Sundin announced his retirement today as a free agent. His tenure as Captain of the Leafs ended at the end of the 2008 season. I think I, like many Leaf fans, would agree his career truly ended when he announced he was signing with the Vancouver Canucks in 2009. I felt betrayed by Mats when he first claimed Toronto was his home, and then signed in Vancouver. However, looking back on the career of the first European Captain in Leafs history, nobody could argue he was a great leader, a great athlete, and he will truly be missed in Leafs Nation. Someday his banner will hang from the rafters; goodbye Mats! We'll miss you!
As we start the regular season tonight I only have one last thing to say before it kicks off that I think we all agree with... GO LEAFS GO! GO LEAFS GO!!!
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