Mats Sundin has finally retired. It was a "quick" decision compared to last season where he agonized for months before returning for one more kick at the can. He does finish after 18 seasons with 564 goals and 785 assists in 1,346 games -- tied for 20th on the all-time goals list with Joe Nieuwendyk and 25th on the all-time points list. Not bad for a guy whose prime was in the trap years.
He only logged 91 playoff games in that time but scored 82 points in the postseason, retiring without his name on the Cup. But he did win Olympic gold for Sweden, so he's got that going for him, which is nice. There will be a lot of debate about how good player and leader he was. Are his accomplishments magnified by being a Leaf? We will never know how good he was because he played in a mediocre organization for most his career. Leaf fans hold Doug Gilmour in such high regard but Dougie never won a Cup in Toronto and he posted big numbers for a shorter period of time. But Gilmour visually demonstrated his passion for the game while Sundin was much more stoic.
12 years ago
