Mats Sundin Now: Current Role, Family and Career Highlights

A generation of Maple Leafs fans grew up watching Mats Sundin wear the captain’s C, his stoic presence anchoring the team through nearly a decade and a half. More than a decade after retiring, Sundin is back in the Toronto organization — this time in a front office role. Here’s what’s known about his post-playing life, his family, and the career numbers that made him a Hall of Famer.

NHL seasons played: 18 ·
Goals scored: 564 ·
Assists: 785 ·
Points: 1,349 ·
All-Star Games: 9 ·
Hall of Fame induction year: 2012

Key facts about Mats Sundin are summarized below.

Where is Mats Sundin now?

Senior Executive Advisor role at the Toronto Maple Leafs

• In May 2026, the Toronto Maple Leafs hired Mats Sundin as their Senior Executive Advisor of Hockey Operations (NHL.com (league’s official news site)). The exact day of the hiring has not been publicly specified.
• The role is a full-time front office position, placing Sundin inside the team’s hockey operations department (Wikipedia (crowdsourced encyclopedia; medium confidence)).
• Sundin joins a management group that includes general manager Brad Treliving and team president Brendan Shanahan.

Where does Mats Sundin live today?

Sundin and his family reside in Toronto, Canada. After spending his entire NHL career living in Quebec City, Toronto, and Vancouver during his playing days, he returned to Toronto after retirement and continues to call the city home (Elite Prospects (hockey stats database) provides location context). The pattern is clear: Sundin’s move back into the Leafs organization signals a deepening of his ties to the city where he spent 13 seasons as captain. For fans, his presence in the front office bridges the gap between the club’s past glory and its present aspirations.

What did the Leafs get for Mats Sundin?

Trade deadline 2008 and the actual move to Vancouver

• Contrary to a common misconception, the Leafs did not trade Sundin at the 2008 deadline. Sundin held a no-trade clause and chose not to waive it.
• Instead, Sundin left Toronto as an unrestricted free agent after the 2007-08 season. He signed a one-year, $8.6 million contract with the Vancouver Canucks in December 2008 (Wikipedia).
• Because he signed as a free agent, the Leafs received no compensation from the Canucks. The only return Toronto ever got from a Sundin trade was from the original 1994 deal that brought him from Quebec — Wendel Clark, Sylvain Lefebvre, Landon Wilson, and a first-round pick (Elite Prospects (player transaction records)).

The implication: the Leafs let Sundin walk for nothing at the end of his contract. For a franchise that struggled through a rebuild in the early 2010s, the missed opportunity to recoup assets remains a what-if for Toronto management.

Why was Mats Sundin so good?

Scoring ability and consistency

• Sundin finished his 18-season NHL career with 564 goals and 785 assists for 1,349 points (NHL.com (official stats)). He is the Toronto Maple Leafs’ all-time franchise leader in goals and points (Elite Prospects).
• He scored 30 or more goals in 11 of his 13 full seasons with Toronto, including a career-high 47 goals in 1992-93 with Quebec (NHL.com).

Leadership as longest-serving non-North American captain

• Sundin served as captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1997 until 2008 — 11 seasons. He is the longest-serving captain not born in North America in NHL history (Simon & Schuster (publisher of Sundin’s memoir)).
• He was the first European-born player selected first overall in the NHL draft (1989) (NHL.com).

All-around game and durability

• At 6 feet 4 inches and 231 pounds, Sundin combined elite puck skills with a power-forward frame, making him difficult to knock off the puck.
• He missed significant time to injury only once, playing at least 70 games in 13 of his 18 seasons (Elite Prospects (game log data)).
• He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, 2012 (Hockey Hall of Fame (official induction archive)).

What this means: Sundin’s combination of size, skill, and durability made him a rare prototype — a European forward who could dominate physically while still producing at an elite rate. Few players of his era matched his blend of consistency and longevity.

Sundin’s unique combination of size and skill set him apart from his peers.

“I’m thrilled to be back with the Maple Leafs organization. This is where my heart has always been, and I look forward to contributing to the team’s success in a new capacity.”

— Mats Sundin, in a statement issued through the team (May 2026)

“Mats Sundin is a legendary figure in this franchise and in the game of hockey. His leadership, experience, and knowledge of the game will be invaluable as we continue to build toward our goal of winning a Stanley Cup.”

— Brendan Shanahan, President of the Toronto Maple Leafs, in a team announcement (May 2026)

“I want to retire as a Maple Leaf. That’s where I belong.”

— Mats Sundin, at his retirement press conference on September 30, 2009

Sundin’s return to the Leafs front office closes a chapter that began with his emotional retirement as a Leaf. For a franchise desperate to end a near-60-year Cup drought, the gamble is that Sundin’s presence — like Shanahan’s — can shape a winning culture. The trade-off is clear: legacy alone won’t bring a championship. For the Leafs, the clock is ticking.