Mats Sundin

Mats Sundin is the longest-serving captain not born in North America in NHL history. He enjoyed a prolific eighteen-season NHL career as well as a superb international career playing for Sweden, his homeland. When he was selected by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft, he became the first European-born player ever drafted first overall. The Nordiques traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the rest is hockey history. At the time of his retirement, Sundin stood as the Toronto Maple Leafs’ all-time franchise leader in goals and points. A quiet leader, the durable Sundin is regarded as one of the finest Swedes to have played in the National Hockey League, and one of the greatest Toronto Maple Leafs of all time. He lives in Sweden and visits Toronto often.