Mats Sundin is one of the most beloved Toronto Maple Leafs players of all-time, yet he may ruin that reputation if he becomes an executive with the team.
Reports indicate that the Leafs are about to hire Sundin as the vice president of hockey operations, alongside John Chayka. This isn't quite the Brendan Shanahan and Lou Lamoriello tandem that this franchise is used to, so it's a very interesting choice.
I'll save my thoughts on Chayka for another article, but instead will stick with Sundin. Prior to Auston Matthews breaking the record last year, the 55 year-old was the Leafs goal scoring leader for almost two decades. He's a Hall of Famer and someone who is looked at as not only a fantastic player on the ie, but a classy guy off the ice.
At 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, Sundin commands a room when he walks into it and his resume speaks for itself. With over 500 goals and 1349 points in 1346 games, he's one of the best Sweeden born players in NHL history and will never have to buy a drink in his homeland after guiding Team Sweeden to an Olympic gold medal in 2006.
He never won a Stanley Cup, but 18 years in the NHL, a gold medal, while averaging over a point per-game is a career that not many players can talk about, so he's in rare company.
As a result, why would he want to tarnish it?
Sundin will hurt his legacy if the Maple Leafs continue to fail
Sundin has been out of the NHL for the past 17 years and has seemingly spent all of that time back home in Sweeden. He's not that present in the community, but he's definitely been more noticable over the past few years, so it's quite possible that he misses the spotlight and wants to do whatever he can to help the Leafs win a championship.
As mentioned, he never won a Stanley Cup as a player, so he may be inspired to win one in a different manner, as an executive. Unfortunately based on the history of this franchise, they'll most likely end up missing the playoffs than winning a Stanley Cup, so this is a tough position for Sundin to be in.
The only way this role makes any sense for Sundin is if he's in the background. He can be introduced and speak at a press conference, or come out and chat once per year, but he shouldn't be chatting to the media on a regular basis like the general manager.
It's totally fine if Sundin is hired for good public relations, but that's as far as it should go. He should be looked at as a smart hockey mind in the room but shouldn't be someone who makes all of the decisions. He's an amazing player and is smart, but he doesn't have any front office experience.
Maybe I'm pessimistic about the future of this franchise, but it feels like the Sundin hire will only hurt his legacy, as it doesn't feel like this team is anywhere close to winning a Stanley Cup.
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