Mats Sundin and the Complicated Business of Being a Maple

Every hockey franchise has players who were great, players who were popular, and players who somehow become part of the organization’s identity. Those aren't always the same thing. Mats Sundin sits in that interesting middle ground in Toronto because his numbers were excellent, he wore the captain's C for a decade, and now, years after his retirement, he's back in the organization in a front-office role. That last part changes the way I look at his place in Maple Leafs history.

Sundin didn’t lead the Maple Leafs to the Cup, But He’s a Huge Part of Team History.

Sundin wasn't Bobby Orr or Wayne Gretzky, and he didn't win a Stanley Cup in Toronto. And the lack of a Cup is a huge part of the Maple Leafs’ story. In fact, if the standard for being a defining Leaf is winning the Cup, then the conversation gets very short very quickly. The Maple Leafs haven't won since 1967. But that also means generations of Toronto fans grew up with something other than championship memories. They grew up with players. And for a very long time, Mats Sundin was the player.

He arrived in Toronto in 1994 and eventually became captain, holding that position for ten seasons. He scored 420 goals and 987 points as a Maple Leaf. For years, he was the franchise's all-time leading scorer and remains its all-time points leader. Auston Matthews has now passed him in goals and is chasing him in just about every meaningful statistical category. Matthews may ultimately become the defining Maple Leaf of his generation. But there is a difference between being the best statistical player and being the player who represents an era.

That Distinction Is What Makes Sundin Interesting.

There was something very steady about him. He wasn't constantly demanding attention, and he wasn't surrounded by Stanley Cup parades. He simply kept being Mats Sundin. He scored, played through pressure, carried the captaincy and represented the franchise through some pretty difficult years. For fans who came of age during that period, he wasn't merely a star. He was their Maple Leaf. And now he has returned to the organization in a completely different capacity.

That may eventually be the final piece of the Sundin story. He was once the guy Toronto expected to carry the franchise on the ice. Now he's helping shape what happens off it. There's something rather fitting about that.

Sundin Is Helping to Shape the Maple Leafs’ Future.

Maybe that's what a defining Maple Leaf actually is. Not necessarily the player with the most goals. Not necessarily the player who won the most championships. It's the player whose story becomes intertwined with the franchise’s.

Matthews may eventually own the numbers. But Mats Sundin still owns a very important piece of the team’s memory.