Mats Sundin

Maple Leafs captain from 1997-98 to 2007-08

Toronto career stats:

13 seasons, GP - 981, G - 420, A - 567, Pts - 987

On how he found out he was named captain:

“I think it was both management [that told me] and Pat Burns was there, Cliff Fletcher was there. It was a big honour. I remember getting the question before coming into one of the training camps and I said I wanted to give it a thought. I talked to Borje Salming and as soon as I told him, ‘Hey Borje, I think maybe they want to ask me to be captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs,’ Borje said right away you have to do it. It’s a huge honour and the best city in the world to play hockey in. And he said he got the question at one point in his career and he didn’t want to wear the 'C' for the Toronto Maple Leafs and he said he regretted that for the rest of his career. It was an easy decision after talking to Borje Salming. I remember coming over for camp and meeting management and coaches and it was a big honour and something that made me a better player throughout my career with the Maple Leafs.”



On embracing the added responsibility:

“It’s nice [talking to the media] when you won 13 in a row. There’s no problem going out there and talking about how [good] things are. But it will become part of the business you have to deal with. If you look at yourself as a leader in the organization, you don’t mind it. You’re never as good as people tell you when you’re winning 13 in a row and, at the same time, when you’re on a losing streak, you’re not as bad as the questions come out.”



On the next captain handling himself in Toronto:

“I think there are many different ways of leading. The biggest thing is stay within your personality. Mats Sundin as a captain is not the same as Nik Lidstrom or Scott Niedermayer or Joe Sakic. We all have different personalities. There are going to be leaders who are a lot more outspoken than me and they’re going to be fine. When you’re talking about yourself or the team, you want to talk about the group and stay positive and make sure everyone in the group you’re talking about respects each other. You need to have a group where you have the respect for everyone as a leader in the room and each and every player needs to have that respect [for the captain].”



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