Maple Leaf
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- Sep 18, 2009
- 10,206
- 5,440
How popular was Mats Sundin to the entire city of Toronto?
- Thread starter Rapsfan
- Start date
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tmlms13
Registered User
Severely underappreciated and underrated.
Faced xenophobia because of his nationality and irrational hatred because of who he was traded for. Never complained, just smiled and handled it with class.
Faced xenophobia because of his nationality and irrational hatred because of who he was traded for. Never complained, just smiled and handled it with class.
Yeah. What an asshole he was for wanting to stay with the team, then not being offered a contract. What kind of monster does that!?
Papa Cherry
Registered User
- Nov 20, 2011
- 209
- 159
My favorite player of all time.
He's a big dude that used his size to go to the net. Kind of like a taller, faster Tavares. Oh yeah and he had the best backhand shot in the league- his blade basically had no curve lol.
He's a big dude that used his size to go to the net. Kind of like a taller, faster Tavares. Oh yeah and he had the best backhand shot in the league- his blade basically had no curve lol.
robertmac43
Forever 43!
- Mar 31, 2015
- 25,575
- 17,793
For those in the 25ish range, my guess is he is one of if not their favourite Leaf of all time. We are at that age where we just missed Clark and Gilmour's primes.
keonsbitterness
Registered User
From some people, yes, but as a general statement, that's crap.
Clark4Ever
What we do in hockey echoes in eternity...
Sundin is right up there with Clark and Gilmour as my favorite all time Leafs. I have his captain's jersey hanging in my man cave.
Overall, I don't think he ever got the appreciation he deserved from the fan base.
Overall, I don't think he ever got the appreciation he deserved from the fan base.
meh I liked him but he wasn’t my favourite leaf of all time and I’m in that age range, a little older. He was a great player though for us. I’d say Darcy Tucker and a few other guys were more loved. Personally my favourite leaf of all time was Phil Kessel, just so electric every time he was on the ice and very similar to Matthews, you knew when he shot it had a high chance of going in. Second favourite may be Darcy Tucker or JVR.
Sundin claimed he couldnt put another jersey on at the trade deadline during an interview. Sundin refused to be moved to help the Leafs get assets back, a common thing to do. Later that year he signs in Vancouver for 5 million for half a season. I have no respect for that, how phony and full of BS he was, when all that mattered was money. Not being moved was a massive FU to the Leafs if u look at the impact of not gaining those assets back .
Gilmour and Clark are legends, Sundin is not in that class. Gilmour and Clark loved being a Leaf, injured themselves to win at all costs. Sundin wasnt like this, I hope everyone recalls Sundin looking world class for Sweden and not the same player with the Leafs. Sure he was still and NHL all star etc but looked like Gilmour and Clark did when he suited up for Team Sweden...meaning he was 100% all in wearing yellow, 93 and 17 were all in wearing blue and white.
completely wrong on the 1st point .. Burke did not offer mats a contract ... mats wanted to remain a leaf but it was the team that turned on him ... and he was willing to sign for 7 mill for the season here
i would take mats over gilmour every time... dougie had 1 super outstanding year and he REQUESTED a trade ... the 2nd time he turned his back on his team ... remember we only got him because he walked out on the flames and his team mates
the revisionist history on this site is unreal
Menzinger
Kessel4LadyByng
Kazparov
Registered User
- Jan 2, 2017
- 1,366
- 1,355
Yes I remember people saying and I was one of them why do you turn up the heat for Sweden and not the leaf's when it conted the most .
Later on in his career he was a lot better.
For me he will never come close to
Gilmour Clark and Salming these players were warriors left it all on the ice.
I was left always left wanting more from Sundin .
Its like Mathews Iam left wanting more.
If i had to pick top forwards to play for the leafs in my life time i'd say .
Sittler - tough and could play every facet of the game well . good leader as well .
Sundin - over Dougy more because of longevity but Sundin doesn't get near the credit he should for keeping a dressing room full over over the top alpha types in check . That dressing room always seemed on the verge of an implosion . Never got to play with another "A" player his entire tenor with the leafs . Guys like Mogilny , Roberts , Lindros ect were always well past their best years when they came to the Leafs . Pretty much was the king of the backhand, clutch goals [ boy could we use that ] and the cycle play but could play with anyone and make it work .
He wasn't exactly physical as in laying the body but played like a power forward when he had the puck and just drove through the opposition. Very hard to take the puck from him.
Gilmour was pure magic for 2 seasons , to short of a tenor for me but those 2 seasons where the best i've ever seen a leaf play and was pretty close to best in the league as well at that time , especially the playoff version. He did get to play with 2 very good goal scorers in Wendel and Andreychuk but he made them even better. Selke caliber as well as one of the best offensive players in the league . Just pure dominance .
Sittler - tough and could play every facet of the game well . good leader as well .
Sundin - over Dougy more because of longevity but Sundin doesn't get near the credit he should for keeping a dressing room full over over the top alpha types in check . That dressing room always seemed on the verge of an implosion . Never got to play with another "A" player his entire tenor with the leafs . Guys like Mogilny , Roberts , Lindros ect were always well past their best years when they came to the Leafs . Pretty much was the king of the backhand, clutch goals [ boy could we use that ] and the cycle play but could play with anyone and make it work .
He wasn't exactly physical as in laying the body but played like a power forward when he had the puck and just drove through the opposition. Very hard to take the puck from him.
Gilmour was pure magic for 2 seasons , to short of a tenor for me but those 2 seasons where the best i've ever seen a leaf play and was pretty close to best in the league as well at that time , especially the playoff version. He did get to play with 2 very good goal scorers in Wendel and Andreychuk but he made them even better. Selke caliber as well as one of the best offensive players in the league . Just pure dominance .
To answer the OP specifically . Sundin was really polarizing to the fan base . It seemed you either hated him or loved him . The older crowd i'd say older than 25 at the time had a hard time liking him or took a long time warming up to him for a ton of reasons .
He was traded for the most popular Leaf probably of all time .
The team went from being a perceived contender to floundering after they acquired Sundin . It wasn't his fault in any way but he was a lightening rod for it. Gilmour was a shadow of himself, the rest of the team was aging hard ect.
Toronto loves their heart and soul guys . We expect our players to lay everything on the line . Not that Sundin didn't in his way but he wasn't a blood and guts guy .
By the end of his tenor with the Leafs i think he'd won over more fans than not then then the infamous trade deadline refusal came and resurfaced a lot of bitterness . Me , i don't see anything wrong with what he did . I would prefer my star players to want to stay with us myself instead of going elsewhere . At the time i thought the Keith Tkachuk scenario would of been best . Trade for some assets then resign with the Leafs in the offseason till retirement . Leafs were intent on closing the chapter though.
He was traded for the most popular Leaf probably of all time .
The team went from being a perceived contender to floundering after they acquired Sundin . It wasn't his fault in any way but he was a lightening rod for it. Gilmour was a shadow of himself, the rest of the team was aging hard ect.
Toronto loves their heart and soul guys . We expect our players to lay everything on the line . Not that Sundin didn't in his way but he wasn't a blood and guts guy .
By the end of his tenor with the Leafs i think he'd won over more fans than not then then the infamous trade deadline refusal came and resurfaced a lot of bitterness . Me , i don't see anything wrong with what he did . I would prefer my star players to want to stay with us myself instead of going elsewhere . At the time i thought the Keith Tkachuk scenario would of been best . Trade for some assets then resign with the Leafs in the offseason till retirement . Leafs were intent on closing the chapter though.
TheKnucklePuck
Registered User
- Feb 26, 2018
- 173
- 85
I was at this game in the Nosebleeds with my buddy (Flames fan). One of the best sporting experiences in my life. Always loved Mats.
Gary Nylund
Registered User
- Oct 10, 2013
- 31,704
- 25,547
Yup. Sundin was a great player, a class act and that is my only real problem with him. People say it's just his style, he's a cerebral type etc. so you don't see the emotion but that doesn't mean he's not doing his best and so on, but then you see him with team Sweden and he's playing with that fire and passion and it pisses me off that he does have that passion and that extra gear in him after all, but he doesn't bring it when he's playing for us. In a way I guess it's understandable, kids in Sweden are more likely to dream about winning titles for Sweden than winning the cup so how can you hold that against him? But at the same time, knowing he has more to give and he's not giving it, well it's also understandable that that can piss people off.
If Sundin had just a little bit of Gilmour in him, he's be an enormous legend in this town. He's probably be like a top 2 Leaf over the last 50 years in terms of popularity instead of being on the fringes of the top 5. As it is he's still a bit of a legend I guess, just a smaller one and we're just left wondering what might have been. And for me it has nothing to do with who we traded for him, I loved Clark as much as any other Leaf fan but I saw that as a smart trade for us the minute I found about it.
DarkKnight
Professional Amateur
- Jan 17, 2017
- 35,599
- 57,253
The Vancouver angle left a bad taste and I think his relative absence since his retirement here hasn’t helped his legacy. That said, he was the man here and an absolute treat to watch. Anyone traded for Clark would have faced an initial barrier, whether from Sweden or Spadina. Sundin won over the fans with his play, as it should be. What a combination of skill and size, a unique talent.
- Sep 8, 2004
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The day the trade was made, I was thrilled. I thought Sundin was the best player we'd had since Sittler (on the day we got him)
I was also not a Clark fan, he had a shot and he was tough, but, he was a liability otherwise, and I was in the minority in my dislike of Clark (similar to my dislike for Hyman, but for different reasons).
95% of all leafs fans HATED the deal (maybe higher) as there was an insane lovefest for Clark.
...I'd say (at the very least) for the first 4-5 seasons Sundin was regularly bashed and never considered a 'Leader' ...he was too quiet, and not a rah rah guy.
It was only later after the Leafs started to have more success when he was finally accepted in full (and respected) by the Fan base
but, I'd say for the 4-5 seasons he was not appreciated because of the trade.
colchar
Registered User
- Apr 26, 2012
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