Lidstrom Sought to Lure Sundin to Red Wings

Over the years, a litany of Toronto Maple Leafs players have made the move west down Highway 401 to play for the Detroit Red Wings.

Hall of Famers such as Frank Mahovlich, Borje Salming and Charlie Conacher doffed the maple leaf for the winged wheel. Players such as Jamie Macoun, Bob Rouse and Dmitri Mironov won Stanley Cups in Detroit after leaving Toronto.

There was a time when the most important and talented member of the Maple Leafs was considering a similar move. Ultimately, Mats Sundin just couldn’t bring himself to make the change.

Fitting that the golden generation for Swedish hockey would capture Olympic Gold🥇 on a game winner by the combo of Mats Sundin, Peter Forsberg, and Nicklas Lidstrom— arguably the countries three greatest ever 🇸🇪 pic.twitter.com/7PwSMFTrZy

— NHLineCombo (@NHLineCombo) July 30, 2022

It was in February of 2008 and the only Swede to score 500 NHL goals was nearing the end of the line with a rebuilding Maple Leafs club. Expectations were that the Leafs would be asking their captain to waive his no-movement clause prior to the NHL trade deadline.

Toronto was visiting Detroit and after the game, legendary Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom would corner his good friend Sundin for a candid conversation. Sundin writes about the scenario in his new autobiography “My Story.”

Come To Red Wings Was Lidstrom’s Plea

“At the beginning of February, when we were going to play against the Detroit Red Wings in Toronto, my friend Nicklas Lidstrom, who was now the Wings’ team captain, said that he would like to see me traded to his team,” Sundin writes. “It was something that Nicklas and I also talked about privately.

“Lidstrom had won the Stanley Cup three times by then and never missed a playoff in his . . . years in Detroit. He knew better than anyone what it took to win, he knew I could contribute to the Red Wings winning once again.”

Introducing our captains for the 2019 Haggar Hockey Hall of Fame Legends Classic!

Legends Mats Sundin and Nicklas Lidstrom battle for bragging rights alongside two star-studded teams. For more information: https://t.co/JxAI5TdkNP#HHOF2019 pic.twitter.com/PDp6SiyHId

— Hockey Hall of Fame (@HockeyHallFame) July 2, 2019

In the end, Sundin’s loyalty to the fanbase of the Maple Leafs was the ruling factor. He felt he couldn’t do that the long-suffering Toronto fans – go to their hated rivals the Red Wings and win a Stanley Cup.

“You know what Lidas, I don’t want to win the Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings. I wanted to win in the Toronto Maple Leafs,” was Sundin’s response to his Swedish compatriot.

Of course, the Red Wings would go on to win the Stanley Cup that spring. Sundin would leave the Leafs following the 2007-08 season, joining the Vancouver Canucks for his farewell NHL campaign. In 18 NHL seasons, the player chosen first overall in the 1989 NHL entry draft would never be a Stanley Cup winner. In fact, he’d never play in a Stanley Cup final series.