(My Sportsbook) - One of the legendary players in Toronto Maple Leafs history makes his return to the Air Canada Centre tonight, although he won't be donning the home team's sweater.

Mats Sundin will face his former team for the first time since leaving the Maple Leafs in this evening's much-anticipated matchup with the Vancouver Canucks.

Sundin's storied 13-season tenure with the Maple Leafs ended when the club elected not to re-sign the now 38-year-old centerman following the conclusion of the 2007-08 campaign. The Swedish superstar then sat out the beginning of this season contemplating retirement before agreeing to a one-year contract with the Canucks on December 18.

A 10-year team captain for the Leafs, Sundin owns Toronto franchise records for career goals (420) and points (987) and made nine All-Star teams during his time with the Leafs.

Since joining Vancouver, Sundin has compiled six goals and six assists in 17 games, although he's recorded just two assists over the Canucks' last five contests.

While Sundin hasn't been scoring much as of late, his team is in the midst of one of its best stretches of the season. The Canucks have won three straight games and improved to 7-1-0 in the month of February with Thursday's 5-2 triumph over the homestanding Ottawa Senators.

Henrik Sedin led the charge with a goal and three assists, while Alex Burrows scored once and set up two others for the red-hot Canucks. Daniel Sedin added a goal and an assist to Thursday's win.

Vancouver, which closed out January with an eight consecutive losses, will be playing the third leg of a four-game road trip that began with a 4-3 shootout win over Northwest Division rival Calgary on Tuesday. The Canucks conclude the swing with a visit to Montreal on Tuesday.

The Canucks enter tonight's tilt having won four of their last five on the road and own a respectable 15-10-4 record as the visitor this season.

Toronto has been headed in the opposite direction lately, having lost six of its last eight outings and producing a dreadful 5-9-5 record since January 6.

After opening up a current four-game homestand with a win over Pittsburgh last Saturday, the Leafs came up short in recent clashes against Buffalo and Columbus.

In a 4-3 shootout loss to the Blue Jackets on Thursday, Toronto failed to hold a one-goal lead after two periods and rookie goaltender Justin Pogge allowed both Columbus skaters he faced to score during the deciding phase.

Pogge did stop 31-of-34 shots prior to the shootout in his fifth career NHL start, while Nik Antropov delivered a pair of goals in defeat.

The Maple Leafs have also lost three straight meetings with the Canucks, including a 4-2 setback in Vancouver on November 15. The Canucks cruised to a 6-1 victory in their last visit to the Air Canada Centre, back on January 13, 2007.