Bittersweet: Mats Sundin's Emotional Return to Toronto

To most fans of teams other than the Toronto Maple Leafs, Mats Sundin was just an elite player. A very elite player. A big, strong, goal-scoring center, non-Maple Leaf fans were certainly aware of Sundin’s hockey skill and his leadership qualities. But to Maple Leaf fans, he was something else, more than just an elite player. Sundin represented the best of what the Maple Leafs had to offer, during a tumultuous period for the club and its fans. He represented hope. Sundin was admired, beloved and considered a hero by Leafs fans, the hero that would bring them that elusive Cup. Sundin holds a legacy and stature that is afforded to very few players that don the blue and white. However, Sundin’s departure from Toronto leaves wounds that may have yet to heal for some Leafs fans. Today in The Puck Chronicles, we’ll tell the story of February 21, 2009, the day Sundin played his final game in Toronto, as a Vancouver Canuck.

In order to understand the significance of that February 2009 game, we must first look back at Sundin’s legacy and journey in Toronto, and the circumstances that led to his shocking departure.

Author Note: Sundin was my favourite player growing up, and I’d love to know who your favourite player was when you were growing up! Maybe it was someone well-known or maybe someone relatively niche that you fell in love with for seemingly no reason. Heck, maybe you’ll see a story about them soon! Let me know here, or email me at [email protected]! And if you enjoy this story, I write about hockey history once a week. You can get email updates to these stories by subscribing: https://puckchronicles.com/subscribe!

Toronto’s Towering Leader

Given Sundin’s Leaf legacy and what he means to the city of Toronto, some fans might be shocked to find out that Sundin actually started his career in Quebec. In the 1989 NHL Draft, the Nordiques made Sundin the first ever European-born first overall pick in NHL history. Sundin played 4 years in Quebec, going from a rookie finding his North American game to a breakout, but still relatively unknown, star by 1994. It was that year that the Toronto Maple Leafs shocked the league by acquiring Sundin, in exchange for then-captain and fan-favourite Wendel Clark. Maple Leaf fans at the time were shocked and outraged, as Clark was highly beloved and he was traded for an unknown Swede. As we know now, Clark and the Leafs were reunited 2 years later, but this trade set off the start of Sundin’s legacy as a Leaf.

Over the next 13 seasons, Sundin became the cornerstone of the Maple Leafs franchise. 3 years after being acquired by the Leafs, Sundin became the captain, a role which he held for over a decade. In total Sundin amassed 987 points in 981 games with the club - a still-standing franchise record for points. Sundin led the Leafs on multiple playoff runs, including Eastern Conference Final appearances in 1999 and 2002. A superstar on the ice, Sundin was also a consummate professional off of it. No player embraced the pressure and scrutiny that comes with being the captain of the most intense media market in the league quite like Sundin did. He became not only a superstar on the ice, but a role-model and leader off the ice, becoming a symbol of hope for a team that hadn’t won a Stanley Cup since 1967.

But hockey, especially in Toronto, is subject to change, and that’s where this emotional story begins.

The Trade That Never Was

No movement clauses (NMC’s) and no trade clauses (NTC’s) are an important factor of NHL contracts under the current CBA. An NMC or NTC, which are typically given to higher-end players, give players a peace of mind knowing that they cannot be moved to another team for the entire length of their contract. However, GMs often ask players to waive their clauses in order to move them, something a player must be willing to do in order to be moved (see Jacob Trouba as a recent example of a player who waived). In June 2007, then 36-year old Mats Sundin signed a 1-year, $5.5 million contract to stay with the Maple Leafs for one more year. The contract included a full no-trade clause.

At the trade deadline of the 2007-08 season, Sundin’s 13th as a Leaf, the Leafs were 6 points out of a playoff spot and it was clear that even if they did make it, they wouldn’t be able to get very far. The Leafs’ interim GM at the time, Cliff Fletcher, decided to pack in the season and trade his older players to acquire future assets (Chad Kilger, Wade Belak and Hal Gill were all traded for draft picks at that deadline). Sundin, still a superstar at age 36, led the team with 62 points at the deadline, and was a player who could provide a lot of value to contending teams. Did Fletcher have the guts to trade away one of the most storied players in franchise history, a Toronto icon and his captain? The answer was yes. There was only one problem. Sundin’s no trade clause.

On February 24 2008, just a few days before the trade deadline, Sundin released a statement, explaining that he had not waived his no-trade clause and had rejected a move away from the Leafs:

For Sundin, his loyalty was non-negotiable. He had given his heart and soul to the franchise, and wasn’t willing to chase a cup elsewhere. Fletcher had no hard feelings, stating Sundin had the right to exercise the clause in his contract. Adding to the complexity, Sundin refused a trade but then promptly refused to sign a contract extension to stay a Leaf past that season. The situation got even messier in the summer, as Sundin, now a free agent, refused to commit to playing another season entirely. He never ended up resigning with the Leafs despite rejecting a move away just a few months earlier and remained a free agent as the season began. By the time he decided on playing another season, it was December 2008, almost halfway through the season, and Sundin decided to sign with the Vancouver Canucks.

Sundin’s decision was extremely controversial to the fans, leading to a very messy breakup. At the time of the trade refusal, many fans applauded Sundin’s integrity and loyalty to their team, while many others criticized him for holding back the Leafs’ rebuild. However, when he decided not to resign and instead sit out for months before signing with the Canucks, he severely damaged his legacy in Toronto at that time. Many fans have since forgiven Sundin, and his jersey was raised to the rafters by the Leafs in 2012, but many fans still hold a grudge to this day. Especially with seeing how poor of a team the Leafs were after Sundin left for nothing, fans believed that the assets they would have received for trading him would have accelerated the team’s rebuild.

No matter how the fans felt, they got one last chance to see their superstar in action, with the stage set for an emotional return to Toronto for Sundin in February 2009 as a Canuck.

February 21 2009: The Return

Since the day Sundin signed in Vancouver, both he and Maple Leaf fans had one date circled on their calendars. February 21. The date that the Canucks would play their one game in Toronto that season. Sundin’s return to the Air Canada Centre. After a few seasons with no playoff berths, this game was the most meaningful Maple Leaf game in a while. As a side note, it’s crazy to think that this game might have never happened given the NHL scheduling. Western Conference teams only play 1 away game against each Eastern Conference team. Had the Canucks played their 1 away game against Toronto before Sundin’s signing in December, he would have never played another game in Toronto.

As the game approached, it was all the buzz in Toronto. With the Leafs not being a strong team that year and their playoff chances all but gone by February, all the media and fans could talk about was Sundin’s return. Would the fans cheer? Would they boo? How would Sundin feel? Would he feel like an enemy on the very ice where he became a hero?

As it turns out, when Mats Sundin stepped out onto the Air Canada Centre ice that night, he was met with thunderous applause and a lengthy standing ovation. Fans rose to their feet and serenaded their hero for over a minute, many recognizing that this would be their last opportunity to do so. Sundin waved to the crowd, visibly moved by the reception. That moment could only be described as the most pure outpouring of emotion possible, and you can’t help but imagine Sundin’s relief at the fans’ reaction.

The game itself was a low-scoring affair, ending in a 2-2 tie with goals from Jason Blake and Matt Stajan for the Leafs, and Sami Salo and Alex Burrows for the Canucks. Overtime solved nothing, so off to a shootout it went. First stepped up Blake for the Leafs. He missed. Pavol Demitra scored for the Canucks. Next round, both Nik Hagman (Leafs) and Kyle Wellwood (Canucks) missed. Mikhail Grabovski tied it up for the Leafs, leaving the Canucks with one shot to win the game. And who else to step up but Mats Sundin, the Maple Leaf icon.

As Sundin skated to center ice, the crowd roared, torn between loyalty to their team and the emotional weight of the moment. With the game on his stick, this is what Sundin did:

That moment right there is something my child self will always remember. Sundin’s perfect moment. After all the drama of his departure from Toronto, to all the emotions the fans felt towards him, this was the pinnacle of it all. A moment that Leafs fans and Sundin himself would never forget.

Mats Sundin’s return to Toronto that night was more than just a game. It was a reminder of his Leaf legacy and the deep connection he has with that city. While his decision to leave and the way he left hurt deeply, his leadership and contributions to the Leafs will never be forgotten. That shootout goal, as bittersweet as it was, felt like the closing of a chapter - a final salute from Sundin to the fans that adored him. That night was proof that, sometimes, hokey is about more than wins and losses. It’s about loyalty, legacy, and the moments that make us feel something unforgettable.

The Inspiration Behind This Story

Thank you for reading the very first story of The Puck Chronicles! I hope you had as much fun learning about the story of Sundin’s return to Toronto as I did writing it. You may be wondering why I picked this as the first story. Firstly, Sundin is my personal favourite player of all time. I grew up as a child through Sundin’s prime and he holds a special place in my heart. Some of my fondest memories are watching Hockey Night in Canada on a Saturday night, seeing Sundin light up the ACC with the voice of Bob Cole. This was a very special and personal story for me to write.

The second inspiration is I have recently been reading Sundin’s new autobiography called Home and Away. A lot of the research for this story actually came from this book! I may be biased but the chance to read the full backstory of my favourite player was something I couldn’t pass up and I was not disappointed. If you’re interested in reading more about Sundin’s life and career, told by himself, I highly recommend checking his book out: Home and Away by Mats Sundin - Amazon.

If you’ve read his book or plan on picking it up to read, I’d love for you to reach out and let me know your thoughts! Also, do you have any ideas for a hockey history story you’d like to see written? Submit them here: Puck Chronicles Story Ideas. Finally, if you want to talk hockey or anything else, reach out anytime at [email protected]! If you enjoyed this story, I’d love for you to consider subscribing: https://puckchronicles.com/subscribe to not miss the next one!

For now, I’ll leave you with this emotional video of the ovation Sundin got on that night of February 21 2009: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxxbciA0TWk

Wishing you a very happy holidays and see you in our next edition!

Areez