Ex-Leafs defenseman's kind gesture for Joe Bowen in his final season in the booth truly touching

The Toronto Maple Leafs are suddenly within striking distance of a playoff spot, thanks in large to a huge performance from Auston Matthews against the Winnipeg Jets on New Year's Day, with the Leafs captain scoring a hat-trick to help propel the Leafs to a massive 6-5 comeback win, despite being down 4-1 in the contest.

Head coach Craig Berube and teammate Troy Stecher were extremely complimentary of Matthews' clutch performance after the win, and for the fans, it was nice to see the Leafs' captain show a glimpse of the elite player that we all know he is.

Unfortunately for former Maple Leafs blueliner Luke Schenn, he was unable to suit up on Thursday for what would have been his 1,100th career NHL game, and against the team that drafted him no-less.

Still, even though he wasn't playing, he certainly made his presence felt for one important member of the organization.

Joe Bowen, the legendary "Voice of the Maple Leafs" for the last 4 decades, is currently working his way through what is his retirement season. For Schenn, who first cut his teeth in the NHL with Bowen calling his games, he couldn't leave Toronto without first paying Bowen a visit, which he did on Thursday.

Bowen took the time to acknowledge how much the visit by Schenn meant to him, sharing a picture of the two together on his personal Twitter/X account.

Schenn was a member of the Maple Leafs on not one, but two occasions, coming back for a 15-game stint, plus 11 more playoff games back in the 2022-23 season.

Now a member of the Jets organization, Schenn has appeared in just 27 games this season, amassing 4 assists and collecting 21 penalty minutes.

A classy gesture from Schenn, and I'm sure it was just as nice for him to see the smile he was able to put on Bowen's face, even if the Jets left Toronto without much to smile about themselves.