Former Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Jack Campbell announced his retirement from the NHL on Sunday, when he revealed a career transition to becoming an executive life coach.

Since that announcement on Instagram, Campbell has featured as a guest on TSN's First Up on Wednesday and reflected on several moments of his NHL career, which lasted for parts of nine seasons.

It's been over four years since Campbell pulled a Blue and White sweater over his head, with his last game coming in a Game 7 defeat to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Despite the years passing by, Campbell's memory of his time in Toronto still excites him to this day.

"I can't stop smiling," Campbell said when asked about his tenure with the Maple Leafs. "My time there, it's the greatest time of my life. I met my wife there, the friendships I had there, just incredible. 

"Some of the hardest things that I've gone through off the ice were in Toronto, but looking back, it just adds to the power of what Toronto means to me. Just really grateful for the fans, and it's one of the coolest things to look back on."

Sometimes, playing in a large hockey market such as Toronto, or even with the Edmonton Oilers, where he played 41 games across two years, the outside noise can be intimidating for certain players. But for Campbell, he embraced the spotlight and the importance that each game brought for the Maple Leafs.

"I was obsessed with playing in a Canadian market," he said. Playing in Toronto, it was the coolest thing in the world, waking up on game day and opening up the blinds, it just felt like Hockey Night in Canada every single game."

Campbell was an emotional athlete. When the outcome wouldn't fall in his favor or he was going through a tough stretch with his team, he was very hard on himself. 

However, none of his personal expectations to perform had anything to do with the spotlight of playing in Toronto. For Campbell, that was all between the ears, and he saw the opportunity to represent the Maple Leafs on the ice as a privilege.

"The hard part about it isn't exactly what people think," he said. "Yes, it's a lot of eyes on you… but nothing in the media would ever be as bad as how I would talk to myself. So, in that regard, playing in a Canadian market actually was never that big of an issue for me. I loved every second of it, as far as having the opportunity to play there."

In the midst of reminiscing about his days in the NHL and specifically with the Maple Leafs, Campbell took the time to praise his old goalie tandem partner in Toronto, Frederik Andersen.

The two netminders shared the crease for some time between 2019-20 and 2020-21.

"What a tremendous human being," Campbell said of Andersen. "That's just a guy I would run through a brick wall for any day. The way he carried himself, it's inspirational. When you're going through a tough time, Freddy Andersen comes to mind on how I would want to carry myself."

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