Mats Sundin hopes to be there when Auston Matthews breaks the Maple Leafs' goal record.
The former Maple Leafs captain overlooked Toronto's training camp session alongside Wendel Clark — another former captain of the blue and white — on Wednesday after being invited by management to observe this week.
Matthews has a unique opportunity on his hands entering this season, not only to lead the Maple Leafs for the first time in his career but to put another of his stamps in Toronto's history books.
He's 52 goals away from Sundin's goal record of 520, and one of the first questions the Swede was thrown was how much that record has meant to him.
"Well, it's nothing I really think about, obviously. But I mean, my career, I thought my 13 years with the Leafs were the most fun of my professional career. Beating Darryl Sittler's record, and obviously, Auston is going to beat my record, whether it's this year or next year, and that's the way it's supposed to be," Sundin said.
"But I guess it shows also that, you look at the team Toronto has right now, it's arguably the most talented ever, I think. So the goal record is just a small thing. It's about getting this team to try to win a championship too, right?"
Matthews won his third Rocket Richard Trophy last season after scoring 69 goals in 81 games. With the pace the 27-year-old's on, Sundin believes Matthews could catch Alex Ovechkin, and potentially, Wayne Gretzky's historic goal pace.
"I think anything is possible. I think you look at the forwards that the Leafs have, right? It's (Mitch) Marner and (William) Nylander and (John) Tavares, and there's so much talent up front," Sundin said on Wednesday.
"So he's got all the possibilities to break a lot of records. And not only him, I think, there's other guys on the team that are still young and have long careers."
Matthews was named the 26th captain in Toronto's history on Aug. 14. It was a historic moment in the organization as Tavares passed on the honors to the Maple Leafs' top active scorer.
As a former captain himself, Sundin's advice for Matthews was to just be himself.
"All great leaders lead by example. So, just don't change anything really, and he'll be fine. He's going to do great."
When Matthews received the phone call from Tavares about the captaincy change in the summer, he said he immediately felt chills, not only because of the history but also, the opportunity to lead this team.
"After he let me know and everything, I told him I was shaking," Matthews admitted on the day the captaincy news was revealed.
Sundin, on Wednesday, agreed that being told you're going to be the next captain of the Maple Leafs is a unique feeling.
"It's a huge honour. I mean, Toronto Maple Leafs is the biggest hockey franchise in the world, and so many great players have been captains, and it is a huge honour. Comes with the responsibility, but Auston is the top guy on the team," Sundin said.
"He's the leader and he deserves it. I think it's something that's going to make him even a better player and feel like he's a captain for the team."
Whether Matthews breaks Sundin's goal record this season remains to be seen, but it's safe to say it's going to occur at some point in the next year.
It's not a matter of if, but when.
And as it approaches, Sundin hopes to be there to witness the torch being passed on to the next greatest player in Maple Leafs history.
"As long as I get an invitation, for sure, I'll be here."
