Debating Mats Sundin's Legacy in Toronto

Now that Mats Sundin has finally made his return to the NHL with the Vancouver Canucks, the folks in Toronto are finally closing the door on a chapter of Toronto's history. Since it seems a safe bet to assume Sundin will never suit up as a Maple Leaf again, the debate has arisen in Leaf land -- probably since there's not much else to do with the team falling out of the playoff race in mid-January -- as to where in Maple Leafs history Mats Sundin will find a place.

When you're an Original Six franchise that hasn't won a Stanley Cup since 1967, it can be pretty easy to lay blame on someone who was a large part of the drought. Sundin spent 13 seasons in Toronto between 1994 and 2008, a span in which the Leafs managed to reach the playoffs eight times and win one division title, but never reached the Stanley Cup Finals. But where does he rank among the all-time greats to ever wear the blue and white in Toronto?

A fan blogger over at NHL.com got me thinking. And yes, I know, at times the folks over there can be about as accurate on world events as Miss Teen South Carolina. But a coherent, grammatically accurate posting by someone under the name "transient" caught my eye.

He didn't bring playoff success. He didn't bring a cup. He didn't bring fear of playing the Leafs. He was generally only above average as a player. I've heard the arguments a million times of how he had no one to play with, but they aren't true...

So where should he fit? My own opinion is top 10 as a player for the Leafs. He got enough points during his career that he warrants inclusion in this list. He doesn't however, warrant inclusion in a top 10 Leaf greats list.

When you look back at a players career and think, could the Leafs have accomplished anything they did without him, and you answer yes, that says it all. I mean, there is nothing to accomplish, is there? Nothing was accomplished but an embarrassing end to his era as a Leaf.

The poster makes it seem like the success of anyone in Toronto depends on the number of Stanley Cups you bring home. And that's true to some extent. The opinion of transient, I think, is similar to a lot in Toronto. During Sundin's 13 years, the Leafs raised one banner, a Northeast division title in 1999-00. And, in a place as title starved as Toronto, that's doesn't matter. There, you're remembered for the number of Cups you hoist.

Is that fair? For someone who put more time and effort into the franchise over the last 15 years than anyone, it's not.

Maybe it's because he isn't Canadian. Maybe it's simply the lack of banners and championships. Maybe it's something else. But it's hard to ignore that this poster's opinion of Sundin isn't alone in TO.

But what's also hard to ignore are the numbers. If you take away the strike shortened 1994-95 season, Sundin never played fewer than 70 games during his 12 full seasons in Toronto. A true iron man, for sure. You can't accuse him of being soft. He also put up a minimum of 72 points in each of those years. For that consistency, Sundin now owns the franchise records in goals, points, power play goals, shorthanded goals, overtime goals and game winning goals. And let's remember this isn't just any franchise history. This is a franchise that dates back to 1917. That's 91 years of history.

Maybe the records Sundin doesn't own -- records for points, goals and assists in a single season -- are the ones that earn him the ire of fans. Maybe it was his messy departure from the team last year. It's hard to say.

What isn't hard to say is that Sundin never had the help that other Leafs legends enjoyed. The Stanley Cup teams of the 1960s had six future Hall of Famers. In the 1970s the fans enjoyed watching Darryl Sittler, Lanny McDonald and Borje Salming.

It's easy to see that Sundin was never surrounded by talent even remotely like that. Sundin did play parts of three seasons with Doug Gilmour before he was sent packing in 1997. Steve Thomas had two solid seasons for the Leafs in the late 1990s before he went over the hill.

But honestly, who else did Sundin have?

Alexander Mogilny had a decent year or two. For three of the last four seasons, Bryan McCabe and Tomas Kaberle have been the second and third leading scorers on the team behind Sundin. Are we supposed to say Sundin should have done better with two offensive defensemen to support him on offense? That's a funny joke.

I don't buy any of the argument that Sundin ever had a good forward corps around him. Save for a few seasons with Doug Gilmour, Steve Thomas and (maybe) Alex Mogilny, Sundin never shared the locker room with any great forwards during 13 seasons in Toronto. I think it's safe to say Sundin was the star, making players like Sergei Berezin, Yanic Perreault, Gary Roberts and Mogilny better -- not the other way around.

The good folks in Toronto may not come around on Sundin anytime soon, but hopefully by the time his No. 13 is honored by the Leafs -- and it will be -- they have a change of heart.