Keefe said management talked to Sundin about it at a staff dinner Thursday.
“We thought it was a good idea to give him that moment,” Keefe said. “And we thought it would also have an impact on our group and our franchise’s ties to Sweden. It’s a very strong one.
“I thought it was a very appropriate and obvious thing for us to do.”
This was no ordinary programming either.
Aware of the importance of the event, Keefe had three Swedes in the starting lineup: Nylander, the forward Calle Jarnkrök and defender William Lagesson. Also on the ice was ahead Max Domiwho has known Sundin since his father, Tie, and Mats were Maple Leafs teammates in the late 1990s.
Max still considers Sundin his idol today. Keefe understood this and wanted Domi to know it too.
After the national anthems finished, Nylander and fellow Swede, Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond, took part in the ceremonial puck drop. The puck was dropped by Anders Salming, Borje’s son.
Swedish theme to the max.
Once the game started, the Red Wings broke open a close game with second period goals to lead 2-0. One came via Raymond, leading the crowd to celebrate the exploits of one of their native sons.
Then came the third period, and Nylander took over.
He delivered a perfect cross pass to Tyler Bertuzziwho headed the puck past the Red Wings goaltender Alex Lyon to cut Detroit’s lead to 2-1 at 3:50.
Nylander tied the game on the power play at 13:03 with his 13th goal of the season, a snapshot from the slot that found the top corner.
Then came Tavares’ heroics to give the Maple Leafs a 3-2 lead. And yes, Nylander could have sealed the deal by scoring into the empty net after the Red Wings pulled Lyon away, but ultimately it wasn’t necessary.
Afterward, Tavares noted that Nylander had placed himself “among the elites of the game.”
The crowd couldn’t have agreed more.
Indeed, as the fans rose from their seats after the final horn, Nylander received the player of the match award from Anders Salming. The perfect end to a near-perfect night.
