Mats Sundin, the Swedish hockey legend, Hockey Hall of Famer, and former Toronto Maple Leafs captain, recently talked about his time with Toronto while serving as the Maple Leafs’ Senior Executive Advisor, Hockey Operations. 

He revisits the moment he first joined one of the NHL’s biggest teams and how that experience stayed with him.

"Well, it's joining the Toronto Maple Leafs, it's actually old Maple Leaf Gardens and realising the magnitude of putting the jersey on and becoming a Maple Leaf player," recalled the 16th captain of the Maple Leafs.

Sundin pointed to the atmosphere around the team, the feeling of putting on the jersey, and the memory of playing his first game with Toronto.

Sundin was selected 1st overall in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft by the Quebec Nordiques. Five years later, he joined Toronto in a blockbuster trade with the Nordiques.

He spent the majority of his career in Toronto, serving as captain for 11 seasons and ultimately becoming the longest-tenured non-North American-born captain in NHL history by the end of 2007-08.

Sundin left the Maple Leafs in 2008 for the Vancouver Canucks, making a late-career push for the Stanley Cup after earlier refusing to be moved.

Years later, now that Sundin moves to the Maple Leafs to serve as Senior Executive Advisor of Hockey Operations, he recalled the good old times.

"It was something very unique, and I didn't realise how great it was until I actually put on the sweater," he said. "It's a special place to play in Toronto where hockey is the number 1 sport, and the players are very looked upon as great representatives of the city and the Leafs. It was a very special feeling that first game."

He said those early moments helped him understand the size of the Maple Leafs as an organization and the expectations that come with playing in Toronto, especially at Maple Leaf Gardens.

Sundin later tied those first impressions to the start of a career that would make him one of the most important players in Maple Leafs history.

A Career That Cemented His Place in Franchise History

During his 13-season run with the club, he scored 420 goals and previously held the Maple Leafs’ all-time scoring mark until Auston Matthews passed him on Jan. 3. However, his 987 points remain the highest in franchise history.

Sundin retired from professional hockey after the 2008-09 season. This was when he played 41 games for the Vancouver Canucks. In over 18 NHL seasons, he finished with 1,349 points in 1,346 games, along with 82 points in 91 playoff games.

Internationally, he also went on to win the World Championship in gold with Sweden in 1991, 1992 and 1998. He was the captain of Sweden and guided it to Olympic gold in Turin in 2006. 

With an excellent record like this, Sundin continues to be one of the most influential figures in the sport.

The fact that he continues to remember his first experience in Toronto so many years later highlights just how impactful it was. What are your thoughts on that moment?

Read more at NHL Fan Central.

Written by

Aadhya Nalla

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar