Revisiting the trade that brought Mats Sundin to Toronto; he's still the greatest Leaf ever
Mats Sundin was the first European drafted 1st overall. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was a kid, freshly in love with hockey, and eager to see all these new players who I had never heard of.
We didn't have access to google in 1989. We literally just watched what we could on tv. I was learning how to read, so needless to say I knew nothing about this large blonde haired blue eyed Swedish kid. But I knew I was going to watch his entire career. I loved the number 13, and still do because of Mats Sundin. I recall thinking that he'd look great in a Leafs jersey.
Mats was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques, who eventually became the Colorado Avalanche. They probably shouldn't have drafted Mats, as they already had young franchise centre in Joe Sakic, but we as Leafs fans know what its like to have two elite centers. I'm certain that the Nordiques felt good about the pick.
Fast Forward to 1991, when the Nordiques drafted another stud prospect centre. You've also probably heard of him, Eric Lindros ring any bells? The problem is that Lindros didn't want to play in Quebec, and this led to arguably the 2nd biggest trade in hockey history (Gretzky in 88 tops the list sorry, Eric).
The Nordiques recieved a wealth of riches for Eric Lindros, when the sent him to the Philadelphia Flyers. The key in the deal was another Swedish stud whose name you may recognize - Peter Forsberg.
Needless to say Quebec City wasn't ready for two Swedish stars. The day would come when Forsberg would arrive, and either he or Mats would have to go. It was a different time and the mindset was somewhat barbaric back then. It was long thought that you could not win with a strong European presence.
Following the 1993/94 season, the Leafs, who were freshly outmanned in the western conference finals, saw the need to shake things up. Cliff Fletcher pulled off a massive trade involving, then captain, Wendel Clark, Landon Wilson, Sylvan Lefebvre and a 1st round pick, for Mats Sundin, Garth Butcher, Todd Warriner and a 1st round pick (Nolan Baumgartner). This was monumental and to this day, trading Wendel Clark is a sore spot for a lot of Leafs fans. Me? I was the happiest Leafs fan in Canada.
Sundin is a Hall of Fame hockey player and the backbone of a generation of Leafs teams, who were largely bereft of talent that he often carried to success. I don't need to list the mans accolades. We, as Leafs fans, know that Mats Sundin owned Toronto for well over a decade. He is beloved, and he deserves it.
His exit from Toronto may have sucked, but hey, what's being a Leafs fan without a disappointing exit? Seriously, though.. I've done everything that I can to forget his return as a Canuck in 2009.
I wrote this because I often see the "best Leaf ever" debates out there. Don't get me wrong, the crown is there for Matthews to grab. But he hasn't snatched it yet. Sure there are guys from the 60's and 70's that may have acclaim as well, but they are before my time, and Mats Sundin is the devil I know, and he sits ahead of both Darryl Sittler and Dave Keon, atop the all-time Leafs scoring list.
We have issues in todays culture of recency bias. Older heroes' glory fades and new stars are glorified in their place. Maybe I'm getting old, but until that crown is snatched, Mats Sundin is still the best Leaf of all time.
