Mats Sundin Crowned Toronto's Most Beloved Athlete of the Last 25 Years

There is a lot of talk around Toronto sports fans about who are the most beloved and appreciated athletes in the city's storied history.

Arguments will fly where you'll find names like Darryl Sittler among other greats like Carlos Delgado, Pinball Clemons, and Chris Bosh; all legends of their respective games and who left a mark on Canadian sports.

Well, for TSN 1050 they decided they wanted to settle the argument once and for all, and put out a bracket on social media asking fans to name their most beloved athlete in Toronto sports, and the winner is not too surprising.

Maple Leafs icon and the franchise's greatest scorer, Mats Sundin prevailed over former Toronto Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista.

Sundin was up against a bevy of Canadian legends, and in his quest for the victory defeated former Raptors shooting guard Demar Derozan, Blue Jays legend Roy Halladay, and former teammate Darcy Tucker to make the finals.

Bautista defeated Maple Leafs enforcer Tie Domi, and former Raptors guards Fred Van Vleet and Kyle Lowry to take on Sundin.

Some other Maple Leafs who made the cut were Gary Roberts, Tomas Kaberle, and Nazem Kadri while other names like Bryan McCabe, Kawhi Leonard, and even Toronto FC's former captain Michael Bradley being left off the list.

There was a clear Maple Leafs-heavy grouping and it's clear that the blue and white reign supreme when it comes to Toronto sports; as it has always been and presumably always will be.

But it just goes to show how beloved and appreciated Sundin still is by all fans.

His calm, reserved, but passionate nature endeared him to fans immediately, he broke records, he was a stalwart force in the community; to most fans over the last 25 years he has been Mr. Maple Leaf.

Other generations had guys like Sittler, McDonald, Bower, and Keon to admire but for us who grew up in the mid-90's to late 2000's, it was Sundin all the way. His jerseys littered the arenas, he gets a heroes welcome whenever he shows up, and his presence evokes a memory of a time long past where Toronto was dominant.

Sundin leads the franchise in both goals scored (420) and points (987) while also being the leader in power play goals, game-winning goals, and ranks second all-time with 70 playoff points; only behind Doug Gilmour's 77.

If you were to ask young fans now who they would associate with the Maple Leafs odds are they may say Auston Matthews, William Nylander or even John Tavares.

But for us who were there, it was magical watching Sundin play and his legacy as Toronto's most beloved athlete is well deserved.