With the Toronto Maple Leafs looking to do a major overhaul of their front office this offseason, one intriguing candidate that has arisen is former Leafs captain and superstar Mats Sundin. Without question Sundin was one of the key impact players that led to the Maple Leafs success back in the late 1990s and early 2000s. His play on the ice certainly speaks for itself, but how good is he off the ice in a management role?
Here, we will take a look at three reasons why Toronto hiring Sundin to be a part of their management team will be a good idea, as well as two other reasons why it might not be.
Why Sundin should be a part of the Leafs’ front office
First of all, every Leafs fan will probably remember when Sundin’s contract was about to expire in Toronto, the Maple Leafs were struggling to make the playoffs at the time. Rather than waiving his no-trade clause to help Toronto gain some valuable assets for contending in future years, Sundin refused to because of his loyalty to the team and the fact that he didn’t believe in the concept of a rental player. He truly insisted that if he were to win the Stanley Cup, he wanted to do it with the team he fought for from October to June through the whole journey. Some Leafs fans respected his decision, while others may have held a little grudge because of it, prolonging their losing years for another half a decade.
As a result, by rejoining the Maple Leafs front office, it gives Sundin the renewed opportunity to finally pay his dues and help the organization return to their winning ways. He failed to win the Stanley Cup as a player with the Leafs, so perhaps he can help bring one home by being a part of the management team.
Secondly, Sundin had been through both the winning and losing years with the Maple Leafs during his illustrious career. By having observed and experienced it all, he knows exactly what things would exude team success and what other things won’t work. As a result, Sundin could have some valuable insights and strategies that he can deploy to help quickly turn the current Leafs squad around.
Finally, it has been a while since the Maple Leafs had a former player be a part of their main front office team, namely the President or General Manager positions (with apologies to Jason Spezza, who was the special assistant to the general manager in 2022-23). To do so, one would have to look back to the Pat Quinn days being the Leafs general manager in the late 1990s to early 2000s. For such a storied franchise such as the Maple Leafs, it is about time a notable former player steps up to lead the organization and become past of the face of the franchise off the ice and Sundin could be that one.
Why Sundin might not be the best candidate to help run the Maple Leafs team
The quite obvious reason why Sundin might not be the most ideal person to be a part of the Leafs front office is his lack of management experience. Most other usually either have a background in the field or had gained some prior experience through coaching or being assistants to the front office. As a result, for the Maple Leafs that are looking for a quick retool or rebuild to get the team back in the right direction, someone with much more experience could help make that happen more easily. Of course nothing is easy in this league, but at least they would know what would work right away and what they should avoid.
Secondly, if the Leafs wanted Sundin mainly to help spark the franchise by being a part of team management because of his “iconic figure” back when he was a player, there are actually a couple of even more notable candidates they should consider. One of them is one of the Maple Leafs all-time favourite players in Wendel Clark, and another is the one that had helped lead Toronto closest to the Stanley Cup in the past 40 years in Doug Gilmour. Both Clark and Gilmour could resonate their winning success and passion for the game a lot better with the entire organization and would no doubt make the Leafs team have that mental focus, grit and determination just like both players did during their prime. As a result, even if Sundin makes the cut, either Clark or Gilmour should be there too to help make a huge difference.
In the end, it will be up to the Maple Leafs on who they really want. But whatever they end up deciding on, expect a drastic different look for the franchise both on and off the ice going forward.
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