He didn’t yell. He didn’t use broad gestures to galvanize his charges. There were no fire and brimstone speeches in his repertoire — at least that we know of.
But that didn’t stop Mats Sundin from being one of the best leaders in the NHL, according to his former teammates.
It was a different hockey world when Mats Sundin made history.
His status as the first European ever selected No. 1 in the NHL draft back in 1989 was no small achievement, you should remember. Back then, Euros weren’t necessarily seen as players that could be trusted to be franchise players despite the success players like Jari Kurri had already experienced. The Iron Curtain had yet to fall, so players from Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union were all but unreachable.
Hockey players will soon be skating again at Maple Leaf Gardens. They’ll be figure skating, but there they’ll be, on the same ice that Toronto’s hockey legends once called home.
And the public will have the chance for one more peak inside the venerable, yellow-bricked hockey palace on Carlton St.
In a neat twist, the CBC announced yesterday that Battle of the Blades, a new show featuring former NHLers paired with world-class female champions in a figure skating competition, will air live from the Gardens beginning Oct. 4.
Old Leafs try ice dancing in reality TV show
Historic Maple Leaf Gardens will play host to the CBC reality television show Battle of the Blades, in which hockey legends pair up with figure skaters to dance for charity.
“We have had an enormous reaction to the show being at the Gardens. A lot of people are excited to get the chance to walk into the Gardens,” John Brunton, executive producer of the show said last night from Los Angeles.
“The building hasn’t been gutted and we will bring in our own ice surface. Some seats are still there and we can easily replace the ones that are gone,” he said.
“A lot of the charm of the building still exists.”
The last NHL game at the Gardens was played Feb. 13, 1999.
Hockey Hall of Famers Lanny McDonald and Glenn Anderson as well as former Maple Leafs fan favourite Tie Domi will team up with figure skating stars such as Jamie Sale, Shae-Lynn Bourne and Barbara Underhill to perform ice dancing routines in front of a live audience.
More participants in the show will be announced at a later date.
The show will be hosted by Ron MacLean of Hockey Night in Canada and former world figure skating champion Kurt Browning. Up to 5,000 spectators are expected at the Gardens show.
It will air in October.
Sun Media
Former Leafs star to attend official opening of ‘Friends of Tie Domi Rehabilitation Clinic’
Toronto, ON – Help us celebrate the official grand opening of the newly renovated ‘Friends of Tie Domi Rehabilitation Clinic’ at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) on Tuesday, May 26. The new space, which handles more than 35,000 patient visits each year, offers a bright and refreshing change to a clinic that has not been updated since it originally opened in the 1950s.
Former Leafs star to attend official opening of ‘Friends of Tie Domi Rehabilitation Clinic’
Help us celebrate the official grand opening of the newly renovated ‘Friends of Tie Domi Rehabilitation Clinic’ at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) on Tuesday, May 26. The new space, which handles more than 35,000 patient visits each year, offers a bright and refreshing change to a clinic that has not been updated since it originally opened in the 1950s.
The Toronto Maple Leafs placed veteran winger Tie Domi on waivers this morning, which clears the way for the team to buy him out of the final year of his contract tomorrow. Players must be placed on waivers in order to be bought out. If Domi clears waivers – which will happen – by noon tomorrow when the NHL’s free agency period begins, he will become an unrestricted free agent, meaning any team may sign him without compensation to the Leafs.
“We want to thank Tie for his many years of service to the organization,” said GM John Ferguson in a press release. “He became a fan favourite for a reason and we wish him well in the years ahead.”
Q. In the past you’ve made comments about the issue of respect in regards to the Leafs and your free agent status. Please shed some light on this.
A. I think respect is about how you treat people. You treat people how you want to be treated. That’s what my father taught me when I was growing up. This was the first time I was an unrestricted free agent. Everybody holds that as the trump card in their career, but I just felt I wasn’t really enjoying it as much as I thought I would. It was more of a stressful time for me and after the CUJO situation, I really thought I was going to go too. I was pretty disappointed when he went because I’m close friends with him. Ultimately I had to make the decision that was right for me as a person.
BOSTON-During this remarkable, rather stunning, seven-game streak the Maple Leafs are riding, they have won some with offence, they have baffled opponents with smart defence and they have gutted out victories with gritty determination.
Chalk up last night’s win to ruthless efficiency.
In what was billed as a showdown for first place in the Northeast Division, Toronto simply rolled over the hometown Bruins, shredding former Leafs netminder Felix Potvin for six goals en route to 6-0 pasting.
The Toronto Maple Leafs’ Tie Domi is as energetic off the ice as he is on.
It was hard to decide which garnered more attention: the striking Magna clubhouse or the glistening new, candy apple red Ferrari Spider that was parked in a select spot in front of it. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise that the owner turned out to be Tie Domi, someone used to making heads spin around on prominent stages.
