Mats Sundin was born February 13, 1971 in Bronna, Sweden. He is a former Swedish professional ice hockey player who played the majority of this career (1989 – 2009) in the National Hockey League (NHL). Sundin retired in 2009. He wore number 13 and played Center.
Mats Sundin was drafted in 1989 by the Quebec Nordiques with whom he played his first four seasons. In 1994, he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he served eleven seasons as their team Captain. At the end of the 2007 – 2008 season, Sundin had been the longest serving non-North American born Captain in NHL history. He last played for the Vancouver Canucks in the 2008 – 2009 season before announcing his retirement on September 30, 2009.
He appeared in the Stanley Cup playoffs in ten of his 18 seasons. Excluding rookie season, lockout and his time with Vancouver, Sundin scored at least 70 points in every season of his career, played at least 70 games in every season and led the Toronto Maple Leafs in points in every year he was with the team except 2002 – 2003. He is the Maple Leafs franchise all-time leader in goals (420) and points (987). Over his career, he averaged just over a point per game (1,349 points in 1,346 NHL games).
Sundin represented Sweden at various international competitions, including the World Cup and the Winter Olympics, and held the position of team captain for the national squad for nearly ten years. He was widely recognized as one of the top players in the world in these competitions. Internationally, he won three gold medals with Sweden at World Championships and a gold medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
On September 30, 2009 Mats Sundin announced his retirement in Stockholm. On October 29, 2011 he was honoured at a Toronto Maple Leafs home game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. His number 13 jersey was honoured by the Leafs on February 11, 2012 in a ceremony prior to a home game against Montreal.
Sundin was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 12, 2012. He was also inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Hall of Fame in 2013.
On September 10, 2015 it was announced that Sundin would be added to “Legends Row”, a statue outside the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, which consists of twelve names of the best players in Maple Leafs history.
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