‘It was the greatest days of my life’: Jack Campbell on the pressure of playing in Toronto
The big narrative with playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs is that the pressure of playing in the hockey mecca of the world can be too much.
However, for one Jack Campbell, he rather enjoyed playing in the bright spotlight of Toronto.
The longtime NHL goaltender announced his retirement from hockey on Monday, ending one of the most unique careers in the game’s history. Along with stops with the Dallas Stars, Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers, Campbell spent over two seasons with the Leafs. He was traded to Toronto from the Kings ahead of the trade deadline during the 2019-20 season. After backing up Frederik Andersen, he ended up being the starting goaltender late in the 2021 campaign, a role he held through the 2021-22 campaign.
While he didn’t lead the Leafs to success in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he became a fan favorite thanks to his unorthodox style and go-lucky attitude.
On Wednesday’s edition of The Sheet, Campbell joined Jeff Marek to explain why playing for the Maple Leafs was one of the most enjoyable times in his career.
Jack Campbell: How hard it was to play in Toronto? It was the greatest days of my life. The hockey’s obvious. The fan base is electric. The teammates that I had there, I was fortunate enough to not only play with but build relationships with that hopefully will last forever. I met my wife there. Just, it’s hard to even talk about because the way I was treated was so great. The obvious for the outside is like, ‘Man, it must be hard. You know, people call you an awful goalie, or you have a bad night, and you’re in the media.’ Nothing a fan or the media or anything would say would ever be as bad as the self-talk that I was doing to myself. So, that question was so easy. It was like, ‘Man, I’d play in Toronto my whole life.’ It’s not about playing there or in Florida. It wouldn’t matter if I don’t work on what’s going on up in my own head.
You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…
