Amen Jim Kelley

Allow me to preface this by saying that I have the utmost respect for Mats Sundin's playing career in Toronto. Greatest captain in Leafs history? Doubtful, as showing leadership on an off the ice, both through your actions and vocally, is a key ingredient to being a great captain, and Mats always seemed to just laugh off losses. That being said, the man is without a doubt one of the top 5 Toronto Maple Leafs players of all time, if not top 3. My list would have to include, in no particular order
Sittler
Salming
Sundin...woah S's?
Keon
Maybe Gilmour and Lanny...who knows really, it's all open to personal interpretation.

However, with this being said, I must call attention to Jim Kelley's Sportsnet.ca blog in which he calls out Sundin on harming the future of a team that he was so dedicated to. A few lines that stand out, which I firmly believe, are some of the only intelligent ones written about this delicate topic so far (take note Damien Cox)...
"He will surely someday be honoured the way those and others were, with a banner in the rafters, a legacy player, one of the greatest of the greats.

But behind closed doors, Sundin will also be remembered as a Leaf who could have done more for the club and for himself in the pursuit of a Stanley Cup and in choosing not to, he turned his back on helping the franchise one last time.

The Leafs team that steps onto the ice tonight is weaker because of that decision. The climb from the bottom will take longer because Sundin chose to walk away leaving nothing in his place.

It will be difficult if not impossible for the current management to respect him for that. The painful rebuilding project that gets underway tonight could have been farther along had he not made the decision to quit.

These Leafs, both the players and the organization turn the page tonight. The one thing they both can be certain of is that Mats Sundin is no longer a part of anything except their past.

That’s because Sundin chose not to leave anything for their future. "

Now this is only a small excerpt, however I do encourage you to read the entire blog as Kelley really nails it on the head here. If you look at the timeline of events:

1) Mats does not want to leave because his heart is in Toronto
2) Mats doesn't want to leave because he doesn't believe in rental players...(so you'll wait until the off-season to screw us harder than a peter north/jenna jamieson film from the 90's?)
3) Mats delclines deals on deadline day which could net us a first round pick and a prospect in a deep draft.
4) Mats takes the summer off to make a decision
5) Mats decides the summer isn't enough time, so he decides to start the season...as a rental player?
6) Mats remains undecided in October, and looks less and less likely to return as a Maple Leaf.

...it becomes clear that Mats probably didn't want to play at the end of last year either.
As much as I have defended Sundin's legacy, it becomes more evident that he really couldn't care less about his legacy and cares more about himself. Sad to see considering how much he accomplished on the ice.

So long Mats.

Until Next time
BF6