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2006 | Ice Hockey |
Mats Johan Sundin (born February 13 1971, in Bromma, Sweden) is a professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League (NHL). A 6'5"/1.95m, 231 pound/105 kg centre, he is the current captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was named the 16th captain of the Maple Leafs in 1997 and the first European player to wear C for the Leafs.
Draft Status and Early Years
Originally drafted by the Quebec Nordiques with the first pick in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft (from the Swedish Elite League club Djurgården), Sundin was the first European in league draft history to be chosen with the first overall selection. On June 28th, 1994, Mats was traded by the Nordiques to Toronto in a blockbuster deal involving then-Leafs Captain Wendel Clark. Sundin has played his last 10 seasons for Toronto. Statistically, Sundin's best season came during the 1992-93 campaign with the Nordiques when he combined 47 goals with 67 assists for 114 points.
Scouting Report
Sundin is considered to be one of the NHL's elite pivots, combining point production, his overwhelming size and strength, quiet but capable leadership abilities, and a fair amount of grit to his all-around game. He was criticized earlier in his career by the media for a perceived lackluster effort, and for being traded for fan-favourite Wendel Clark. Mats is respected around the NHL as one of the best leaders in the game. Sundin is also one of the highest paid players in the league and is being paid $6.84 million (U.S) during the 2005-06 NHL regular-season.
International Performance
He has represented Team Sweden at various international competitions, such as the World Cup of Hockey and the Olympics, and has held the position of team captain for the national squad for the better part of the last decade. Sundin is widely recognized as one of the top players in the world in these international competitions, and has added a highly impressive list of accomplishments to his credentials as a result of his outstanding performance in the 2002 Winter Olympics and 2004 World Cup of Hockey. Sundin finally clinched a gold medal with Team Sweden in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
Stick-Throwing Incident
On January 6, 2004, in a game against the Nashville Predators, Sundin's stick broke on an attempted shot and he threw it away in disgust. Instead of hitting the glass, the stick went over and into the crowd. The NHL reacted by giving him a one-game suspension. The game he was suspended for was an important match against the Leaf's main rival, the Ottawa Senators.
During that game played in Toronto, Sundin's good friend and fellow Swede Daniel Alfredsson's stick broke, and immediately he faked a toss of his stick into the stands. This caused an uproar with the Maple Leafs, in part because they had also lost the game badly, by a score of 7-1. Alfredsson dismissed the Leafs' reaction, more or less telling them to get a sense of humour. This incident just added more fuel to the rivalry, and Leafs fans still boo Alfredsson every time he touches the puck in Toronto.
Present Status
Sundin used his off-time during the 2004-05 NHL lock-out to relax and enjoy life in his native Sweden. In March of 2005, he announced that he would not participate in the 2005 World Hockey Championships, which took place in Vienna/Innsbruck, Austria. Mats has also made the NHL All-Star Team in nine consecutive seasons and been a Second All-Star Team Centre twice (2002 and 2004).
In the opening game of the 2005-2006 season on October 5th, he took a puck to the face which fractured his lower orbital bone. He returned to the line up on November 5th, 2005, exactly a month after sustaining his injury and missing a total of 12 games. His return was on November 5th, 2005 against the defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning and he came back with a goal and an assist.
Sundin currently holds the NHL record for most overtime goals with 14. He began the 2005-06 season tied with Sergei Federov, but moved ahead with a game winner against the Montreal Canadiens on November 26.
Sundin is the only player in the NHL to have scored at least 70 points (excluding lock-out shortened season in 1994-95) in each of the last 12 seasons.
Sundin has also distinguished himself as the longest-serving non-North American born captain of an NHL franchise in league history.
Career Achievements
- 2006 Olympic Gold Medalist
- 2003-04 NHL - Second All-Star Team (Centre)
- 2003-04 Played in NHL All-Star Game
- 2002-03 Played in NHL All-Star Game (Injured)
- 2001-02 NHL - Second All-Star Team (Centre)
- 2001-02 Played in NHL All-Star Game
- 2001-02 Olympic Tournament - All-Star Team
- 2000-01 Played in NHL All-Star Game
- 1999-00 Played in NHL All-Star Game
- 1998-99 Played in NHL All-Star Game
- 1997-98 Played in NHL All-Star Game
- 1997-98 Elitserien (Sweden) - World All-Star Team
- 1996-97 Played in NHL All-Star Game
- 1995-96 Played in NHL All-Star Game
- 1993-94 Elitserien (Sweden) - World All-Star Team
- 1991-92 Elitserien (Sweden) - World All-Star Team
- 1990-91 Elitserien (Sweden) - World All-Star Team
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1988-89 | Nacka HK | Swe-2 | 25 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 18 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1989-90 | Djurgården | Swe. | 34 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 16 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 1990-91 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 80 | 23 | 36 | 59 | 58 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1991-92 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 80 | 33 | 43 | 76 | 103 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1992-93 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 80 | 47 | 67 | 114 | 96 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 1993-94 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 84 | 32 | 53 | 85 | 60 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1994-95 | Djurgården | Swe. | 12 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 14 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1994-95 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 47 | 23 | 24 | 47 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 4 | ||
| 1995-96 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 76 | 33 | 60 | 83 | 46 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 1996-97 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 82 | 41 | 53 | 94 | 59 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1997-98 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 82 | 33 | 41 | 74 | 49 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1998-99 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 82 | 31 | 52 | 83 | 58 | 17 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 16 | ||
| 1999-00 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 73 | 32 | 41 | 73 | 46 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 10 | ||
| 2000-01 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 82 | 28 | 46 | 74 | 76 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 14 | ||
| 2001-02 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 82 | 41 | 39 | 80 | 94 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 2002-03 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 75 | 37 | 35 | 72 | 58 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 2003-04 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 81 | 31 | 44 | 75 | 52 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 8 | ||
| 2005-06 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 43 | 11 | 29 | 40 | 36 | ' | ' | ' | ' | ' | ||
| 15 seasons | NHL career | 1129 | 476 | 653 | 1129 | 905 | 83 | 35 | 39 | 74 | 72 | |||
See also
- Captain (ice hockey)
- List of NHL players
- List of NHL seasons
- List of Swedes in sports
- List of NHL players with 1000 points
External links
- Official Website
- Mats Sundin Sports Card Colleciton
- TSN.ca Scouting Report and Stats
- NHL.com Profile
- Mapleleafs.com Biography and Profile
| Preceded by: Doug Gilmour |
Toronto Maple Leafs Captains 1997- | Succeeded by: Incumbent |