The search for Maple Leafs executives continues. Will the former Leafs captain be among the chosen?<\/p>\n
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Published Apr 19, 2026 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Last updated 1\u00a0hour ago \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 9 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n When he was captain of the Maple Leafs, Mats Sundin had all kinds of opinions as to what was right and wrong with the hockey club \u2014 opinions he chose to keep mostly to himself.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.<\/p>\n SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.<\/p>\n REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.<\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authors<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n He never wanted to challenge his coach or the general managers he played for. That wasn\u2019t his style. He never wanted to be a distraction. He had too much respect for process, privacy and authority to become a problem himself.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n But that didn\u2019t mean he was devoid of opinions. Quite the opposite. Sundin had strong views, those he kept to himself, those he shared with teammates or his closest friends. In some cases, Sundin\u2019s words would come from other players\u2019 mouths.<\/p>\n By nature, he was an optimist, the way so many high-level athletes tend to be. But his views were often big picture and just as often intelligent.<\/p>\n It is beginning to look as though former Vancouver GM Mike Gillis and the long-time Toronto captain, Sundin, will end up in some kind of partnership front-office arrangement<\/a> as the next bosses of the Maple Leafs.<\/p>\n It seems like a touch of a stretch, turning the franchise over to Gillis, who has been out of the NHL for more than a decade, and to Sundin, who played his last games for Gillis in Vancouver 17 years ago.<\/p>\n Your Midday Sun<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n But that seems to be where CEO Keith Pelley is heading as the search for Leafs executives continues. And for those who played with Sundin \u2014 primarily in Toronto \u2014 the surprise isn\u2019t that he is being considered for a position. It\u2019s that it has taken this long for Sundin to reconnect with the Leafs.<\/p>\n Two years from now, Auston Matthews<\/a>\u2019 contract is up with the Maple Leafs, as is Connor McDavid\u2019s with the Oilers. And if Matthews doesn\u2019t have a Stanley Cup after 12 seasons and McDavid doesn\u2019t have one after 13, can\u2019t you just see the two close friends, with the same agent, winding up on the same team in free agency? NBA-style super-team free agency \u2026 Gary Bettman can preach all he wants about the greatness of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but when two of the three best teams in the Western Conference will be eliminated in the first two rounds, the system seems patently unfair \u2026 My playoff picks \u2014 and remember I\u2019ve never been very good at this: Buffalo over Boston; Ottawa over Carolina; Philadelphia over Pittsburgh; Tampa Bay over Montreal (could be overtime of Game 7) in the East. In the West: Colorado over Los Angeles; Dallas over Minnesota; Vegas over Utah; Edmonton over Anaheim \u2026 My top five playoff scorers: 1. Nathan MacKinnon; 2. Nikita Kucherov; 3. McDavid; 4. Cale Makar; 5. Jack Eichel \u2026 If the Oilers win two rounds of the playoffs, McDavid will wind up leading the playoffs in scoring \u2026 The legend, Harry Sinden, used to contend that the team that was the strongest over the final 20 games of the regular season will win the Stanley Cup. This year, the Sinden theory would take a hit: The team with the best finishing record is the Philadelphia Flyers \u2026 Never been much of a gambler, but I would have bet a lot that there wasn\u2019t a chance Philadelphia would play Pittsburgh in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs \u2026 Brad Treliving wasn\u2019t wrong in his view of the Leafs. He was wrong in what he delivered to the roster. He wanted to change the DNA, said the team needed more \u201csnot,\u201d which was another way of saying they didn\u2019t have enough character. He knew what was missing. Character matters most once the playoffs begin. And the Leafs saw that in Games 5 and 7 against Florida last May and saw that almost all of this dismal season \u2026 Deadline for NHL award voting was Friday. Anyone who voted for Zach Werenski first on their Norris Trophy ballot wasn\u2019t watching the last 15 games of the regular season. Columbus wasn\u2019t very good down the stretch \u2014 hence the Rick Bowness tirade \u2014 and the great Werenski struggled late in the season \u2026 More than one hockey person of quality thinks Caleb Malhotra<\/a>, Manny\u2019s son, should be first pick in the NHL draft. He\u2019s the next Jonathan Toews, a general manager told me. Malhotra isn\u2019t rated a top-five pick \u2026 The strange thing about reports of cost-cutting by the Leafs: No team spends more on hockey operations than they do. Yet, they nickel and dime on small things and amaze executives throughout the league with their cheapness on pre-game meals and press box food. \u201cThis is the richest team in hockey and they embarrass themselves by not having a traditional media room meal. Doesn\u2019t make sense to me,\u201d said one of hockey\u2019s most successful executives \u2026 When Brendan Shanahan took over the Leafs, he did some strong work originally. He wanted to hire the three smartest people in junior hockey. He offered jobs to Kyle Dubas, Mark Hunter and Kelly McCrimmon, and got two of them. He then outbid Buffalo for Mike Babcock to coach and convinced Lou Lamoriello to come in as general manager. That kind of go-out-and-steal-somebody approach \u2014 going after a Steve Yzerman or a Julien BriseBois to run the Leafs \u2014 would be an interesting way to proceed. It worked once, albeit short-term. It could work again.<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Can\u2019t remember the Raptors starting a playoff season with as little external buzz as this one. Hardly anyone talking about their series with Cleveland \u2026 Not sure the Raptors have an answer for the Cavs backcourt of Donovan Mitchell and James Harden in the series. The two combined for 54 points in a one-sided Game 1 win for the Cavs<\/a> on Saturday \u2026 While Mitchell is electric Harden is the absolute opposite, reminding me of the hockey version of Kucherov. He plays his own style, at his own speed \u2026 Seven coaches got votes for the NBA coach-of-the-year award \u2014 as voted by the coaches \u2014 but Darko Rajakovic of the Raptors was not among them \u2026 My Stanley Cup final has Colorado playing Tampa Bay; My NBA final has Oklahoma City against Boston \u2026 The scene at the end of the Golden State play-in loss to Phoenix was worth taking in: Warriors coach Steve Kerr, in possibly his last game, hugging Steph Curry and Draymond Green. The three of them are huge parts of a dynasty, appreciating the moment, even in defeat \u2026 If you never saw Oscar Schmidt play basketball for Brazil, you missed something. He was special. He passed away on Friday at the age of 68 \u2026 McDavid is the best player in the NHL. Nikola Jokic is the best player in the NBA. Both should probably win the MVP award most seasons in their league. Both have played 11 seasons and both have won three MVP awards. One difference: Jokic has one championship to his name \u2026 On this WrestleMania weekend, that was a dirty trip LaMelo Ball forced on Bam Adebayo. He should have been suspended for that. You don\u2019t suplex someone on a basketball court. That\u2019s dangerous \u2026 This is unusual. On April 26, the Raptors will play host to the Cavs in Game 4. A chest pass away, the Blue Jays will play host to the Cleveland Guardians at the Rogers Centre \u2026 In franchise history, the Raptors are 1-9 in playoff openers on the road.<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n The Jays have lost five series in a row \u2014 possibly six by the time you read this. Last year, they never lost more than three series in a row \u2026 What makes the Jays\u2019 early record worse than you might think is how easy their schedule has been<\/a> \u2026 Davis Schneider barely made the Jays team out of spring training, hitting next to nothing in the exhibition season. Now he\u2019s hitting under .200 but he has been right in the middle of the action in about half of the Jays\u2019 seven wins \u2026 Why are the defence-first Jays adding mediocre defensive players to their roster? They signed Kazuma Okamoto in the off-season and he\u2019s a below-average third baseman. They just traded for Lenyn Sosa, whom the White Sox were trying to give away because he\u2019s a poor infielder \u2026 Crappy start for Bo Bichette, hitting .226 with the last-place Mets, one home run and a .564 OPS. Bo\u2019s pal, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., had just one homer heading into Saturday night and one fewer RBI than Bichette, but a higher OPS at .847 \u2026 As part of their 50th season, the Blue Jays\u2019 are giving out a Legendary Home Run T-shirt for their game\u00a0 against Tampa Bay on May 11. The shirt includes images of clutch homers hit by Vladdy, Joe Carter, George Springer, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion. Missing from the shirt are the home runs that made the 1992 World Series possible \u2014 the Roberto Alomar blast in Oakland and the pinch-hit homer by Ed Sprague in Atlanta. I understand why the Jays have chosen to write Alomar out of their history, but why Sprague? His homer meant more than those of Bautista\u2019s bat flip, Encarnacion\u2019s extra innings shot and even the Springer dinger.<\/p>\n Advertisement 6<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Department of Dumb: Brady Tkachuk dropping the gloves to fight Jordan Staal<\/a> at the puck drop in Carolina on Saturday. The puck-drop fight at the 4 Nations Faceoff was a moment in time. The fight on Saturday was meaningless \u2026 Big time for back-to-backs. Rory McIlroy won The Masters this year and last<\/a>. The Dodgers won consecutive World Series. The Florida Panthers won back-to-back Stanley Cups. It\u2019s entirely possible the Oklahoma City Thunder will win its second NBA crown in a row \u2026 Department of Ripoff: The normal return train from Penn Station to the Meadowlands in Jersey will rise from $12.90 to $150 during the World Cup \u2026 Attendance is unlikely to drop as the Blue Jays flounder. The reason: The majority of their tickets are sold before the season begins \u2026 Not much that matters happened in this Maple Leafs season, but NHL players have voted<\/a> William Nylander with having the best social media presence in the league and have voted him hockey\u2019s most fashionable player. So the Leafs don\u2019t have a GM and need to fire their coach, but they do dress well \u2026 The WNBA is getting big time but the commissioner needs some work. Cathy Engelbert didn\u2019t much appreciate being asked recently how long she planned to remain on the job. She considered the question insulting, asking if the reporter would have asked that if she were a man. Apparently, she\u2019s never been to press availabilities held by Bettman or NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who get that question all the time \u2026 I read on Saturday that 56% of Torontonians support Mayor Olivia Chow, which tells me that 56% of Torontonians are out of their minds \u2026 I think Tampa Bay-Montreal will be the best hockey theatre of the first round, Denver-Minnesota in the NBA \u2026 If Major League Baseball is planning to expand to Canada \u2014 their words, not mine \u2014 then it makes a lot more sense to go back to Montreal than begin fresh in Vancouver. And having said that, does anyone know who has money to pay the billions it will cost to build a stadium and buy an expansion franchise with the Canadian dollar worth 60 cents US? The one expansion city that seems obvious: Nashville \u2026 In all the emotional goodbyes for Joe Bowen<\/a>, not enough has been said about his analyst, Jim Ralph, the naturally funny former goalie. Bowen broadcast his first game on Oct. 6, 1982 in Chicago. That same night, Ralph was the No. 3 goalie for the Blackhawks behind Tony Esposito and Murray Bannerman. The next day, he was sent to the minors \u2026 Happy birthday to Randy Carlyle (70), Lu Dort (27), Kelly Olynyk (35), Rick Moranis (73), Troy Polamalu (45), Miggy Cabrera (43), Patrick Laine (28), Candace Parker (40), Mika Zibanejad (33), Vaughn Martin (40), Joe Mauer (43), Simu Liu (37) and Steve Lombardi (65) \u2026 And hey, whatever became of Jackie Bradley Jr.?<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n![\"Mats](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0419matssundinsmall-e1776556222566.jpg\")
Mats Sundin smiles during a book signing at Indigo in Sudbury, Ont., on Oct. 26, 2024. Photo by Ben Leeson \/Postmedia NetworkArticle content<\/p>\n![\"Toronto](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/21.0.2\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-tsun.svg\"){kind=logo}
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Maple Leafs\u2019 Auston Matthews, left, and Edmonton Oilers\u2019 Connor McDavid are two of the NHL\u2019s biggest stars. Photo by Shaughn Butts \/ Files \/Postmedia NetworkTHIS AND THAT<\/p>\n![\"Cleveland](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0419donovanmitchellsmall-scaled-e1776556504421.jpg\")
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell goes to the basket against the Toronto Raptors during the second half in Game 1 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series on April 18, 2026, In Cleveland. Photo by David Dermer \/The Associated PressHEAR AND THERE<\/p>\n![\"Davis](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0419davisschneidersmall-e1776557505622.jpg\")
Davis Schneider of the Toronto Blue Jays is doused after his team defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in MLB baseball action in Toronto on April 8, 2026. Photo by Nathan Denette \/The Canadian PressSCENE AND HEARD<\/p>\n![\"Brady](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0419bradyboutsmall-scaled-e1776557266395.jpg\")
Brady Tkachuk of the Ottawa Senators and Jordan Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes fight during the first period of an NHL playoff game at Lenovo Center on April 18, 2026 in Raleigh, N.C. Photo by Jared C. Tilton \/Getty ImagesAND ANOTHER THING<\/p>\n
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