Sundin and Forsberg together on the Quebec Nordiques

[Boxscore]

For me, this has always been one of those "Man, this was so close to happening" scenarios that I have debated internally over the years. When the Nords traded Sundin to the Leafs for Wendel, they were loaded at center with Sakic, Ricci and the emerging Forsberg.

However, I read somewhere that Sundin played wing various times throughout his career, both in the NHL and in International play. If I'm not mistaken, I recall Mats and Forsberg playing on a line at times in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.

This isn't really a question, more so an open spit-ball discussion: What if the Nords kept Sundin?

Does he move to wing? Does he play with Forsberg? Does Forsberg move to wing? Do the Nords/Avs win more or less?

In my opinion, if the trade never happened, the Nords would have eventually put Forsberg at center and moved Sundin to the wing and played them together. I think the Nords win at least as many Cups as they did, maybe even another one, as Mats was such an impact player.

Strictly from a fan perspective, seeing the super Swedes together in the NHL would have been a big-time treat. I think they could have formed one of the elite lines in the NHL, if not the best, rivaling the Legion of Doom at the time.

Click to read more...

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

did they ever play on the same line internationally?

 

[Troubadour]

did they ever play on the same line internationally?

Cheers and kisses to IOC

Here they are on the same PP unit at the 96 World Cup



I recommend watching the entire video though. Forsberg pulls off his tough guy act a couple of times, gets manhandled by Niinimaa (unable to really fight back as always) and consequently angry, to avenge by embarrassing Suomi with a great, great goal.

(The Niinimaa moment, and I believe Sundin was on the ice as well)

 

[streitz]

Sundin wasn't anything exceptional anyways. Very good but never truly elite except for being consistently very good.

 

[Neutrinos]

I think I would've been more inclined to have Nolan play alongside Forsberg

 

[feffan]

I recommend watching the entire video though. Forsberg pulls off his tough guy act a couple of times, gets manhandled by Niinimaa (unable to really fight back as always) and consequently angry, to avenge by embarrassing Suomi with a great, great goal.

Some great moments from an underrated tournament! One of my favourites. And funny, when discussing that goal here in Sweden at the time it was with the angle that the Forsberg goal was an "answer" to Sundins equally great goal a little bit earlier. A team contest of who of the greats would do the greatest goal I like your angle better

 

[feffan]

Sundin and Forsberg where dynamite internationally. And internationally Sundin was more highly regarded at the time by swedes until about after Forsbergs Art Ross, with the then growing interest here from swedes. If you ask people born around 80 and earlier I think it still will be a more tendencay towards Sundin as the greater Tre Kronor-player actually.

And there he was dynamic. A player never "allowed" to shine in Toronto. Thoose teams where poorly built, with the few other great players past their best dates. If instead Sundin and not Forsberg, or Sakic for that mather, had remained I´m quite sure either combo of them in Colorado would have won Cup(s) and be seen as an all time great PO perfomer and winner. And either one in Toronto would be seen as an underachiever and not one to take over a series.

Sundin always scored clutch goals when playing for great teams on Tre Kronor. And in Toronto actually... He´s placed 5th on the All Time OT goals in NHL with 15. And scored 2 in the PO:s (Sakic had 4 and is remembered as an Mr OT, for reference...). He also had 96 GWG goals, placing 15th all time behind in combo NHL/WHA. Jagr leads with 135, Howe 2:nd with 121. Named Sakic has 10 less than Sundin. GWG ain´t a perfect stat, I know. But when 20% of your goals are GWG ones, it´s not a coincidence. And neither are any position that high on such a list. Even if it can be a useless stat for a shorter period.

The problem with Quebec not trading Sundin is that Nolan later was used to get Ozonlish. A well needed part for the 1996 Cup. So it´s depending if that can be compensated by another trade or the greater C/W depth would tilt the need for Ozolinsh. I actually think that a PP with Sundin as the trigger man, with Forsberg or Sakic feeding him pucks, would have him challenge for a Richard or two. Sundin achieved 40+ goals basically by himself and regullary 30+. That with one of the heaviest and best shot in the leauge that was to seldom used in the role he was needed to play, with more emphacy on playmaking than probably best suited his PP-arsenal.

Sundin was a top 2-10 C for over 10 years. In the probably most deep period for C:s in the history of the leauge/game. I would guess anyone who don´t think that´s exceptional or would rather have Nolan either didn´t watch him or remember as they will.

EDIT:
Saw now that I last night was so tired I confused Clark for Nolan above... Clark was to get Lemieux. And therefore my only problem with the trade is gone Sundin instead of first Clark then Lemieux is a no brainer.

 

[Troubadour]

Some great moments from an underrated tournament! One of my favourites. And funny, when discussing that goal here in Sweden at the time it was with the angle that the Forsberg goal was an "answer" to Sundins equally great goal a little bit earlier. A team contest of who of the greats would do the greatest goal I like your angle better

Sundin's goal. What a beauty. I also remember that many Swedes thought Sundin was the better international player back in the late nineties / early noughties. Supposedly, there was a bit of rivalry between the two, but telling by those goals, it benefited both of them. Also, everything seemed to be just fine by the time they won the Olympic gold in 2006, celebrating together.

I'm sure that if they played on the same line, egos would be cast aside, as both were too intelligent to let their egotism ruin it. And I can imagine them circling the C/W positions casually, even within a single shift, which would have been a hell to defend against.

 

[feffan]

Sundin's goal. What a beauty. I also remember that many Swedes thought Sundin was the better international player back in the late nineties / early noughties. Supposedly, there was a bit of rivalry between the two, but telling by those goals, it benefited both of them. Also, everything seemed to be just fine by the time they won the Olympic gold in 2006, celebrating together.

Fantastic goal. So smooth. Shades of Mario in there.

Definetley a friendly and great "teammates rivalry", that brought out the best of them. Even if not a highly regarded tournament in NA, they impressively won the first tre World Championships they played in together. And in the mentioned World Cup 1996 they where a Garpenlöv and Alfredsson near chance from upsetting Canada and going to the finals. One of my all time favoruite games, even if on the loosing side. Great, great hockey. Just at the beginning of the DPE there was some real intense match ups. Reminded one of the great match ups between Colorado, Detroit, Dallas and NJ in the same era. With quite a few players from that match up being from thoose teams of course

 

[danincanada]

Fantastic goal. So smooth. Shades of Mario in there.

Definetley a friendly and great "teammates rivalry", that brought out the best of them. Even if not a highly regarded tournament in NA, they impressively won the first tre World Championships they played in together. And in the mentioned World Cup 1996 they where a Garpenlöv and Alfredsson near chance from upsetting Canada and going to the finals. One of my all time favoruite games, even if on the loosing side. Great, great hockey. Just at the beginning of the DPE there was some real intense match ups. Reminded one of the great match ups between Colorado, Detroit, Dallas and NJ in the same era. With quite a few players from that match up being from thoose teams of course

I was going to say the same before I read your comment. Looks a lot like Mario on Chambers there.

I'm from Toronto but never a Leafs fan and I have a lot of respect for Sundin as a player. He was a scary player with his skill and size. Typical durable (and humble) Swede in my eyes.

 

[Staniowski]

Sundin and Forsberg where dynamite internationally. And internationally Sundin was more highly regarded at the time by swedes until about after Forsbergs Art Ross, with the then growing interest here from swedes. If you ask people born around 80 and earlier I think it still will be a more tendencay towards Sundin as the greater Tre Kronor-player actually.

And there he was dynamic. A player never "allowed" to shine in Toronto. Thoose teams where poorly built, with the few other great players past their best dates. If instead Sundin and not Forsberg, or Sakic for that mather, had remained I´m quite sure either combo of them in Colorado would have won Cup(s) and be seen as an all time great PO perfomer and winner. And either one in Toronto would be seen as an underachiever and not one to take over a series.

Sundin always scored clutch goals when playing for great teams on Tre Kronor. And in Toronto actually... He´s placed 5th on the All Time OT goals in NHL with 15. And scored 2 in the PO:s (Sakic had 4 and is remembered as an Mr OT, for reference...). He also had 96 GWG goals, placing 15th all time behind in combo NHL/WHA. Jagr leads with 135, Howe 2:nd with 121. Named Sakic has 10 less than Sundin. GWG ain´t a perfect stat, I know. But when 20% of your goals are GWG ones, it´s not a coincidence. And neither are any position that high on such a list. Even if it can be a useless stat for a shorter period.

The problem with Quebec not trading Sundin is that Nolan later was used to get Ozonlish. A well needed part for the 1996 Cup. So it´s depending if that can be compensated by another trade or the greater C/W depth would tilt the need for Ozolinsh. I actually think that a PP with Sundin as the trigger man, with Forsberg or Sakic feeding him pucks, would have him challenge for a Richard or two. Sundin achieved 40+ goals basically by himself and regullary 30+. That with one of the heaviest and best shot in the leauge that was to seldom used in the role he was needed to play, with more emphacy on playmaking than probably best suited his PP-arsenal.

Sundin was a top 2-10 C for over 10 years. In the probably most deep period for C:s in the history of the leauge/game. I would guess anyone who don´t think that´s exceptional or would rather have Nolan either didn´t watch him or remember as they will.

Sundin has always been underrated, I think the most underrated star player of the past 30 years.

When he reached his prime in Quebec, he outscored Sakic when they were teammates (in Sundin's final 2 seasons in Quebec). He was then traded to Toronto, where Gilmour was being called by many as very close to the best player in the NHL, and Sundin easily outscores him all 3 of the seasons they are teammates. And on Team Sweden, Sundin almost always outscored and outplayed Forsberg when they were teammates.

Sundin led Team Sweden in scoring in best-on-best 3 times, was 2nd once, and 3rd twice. He led the entire 2002 Olympics in scoring and led the entire 1996 World Cup in PPG (3rd in scoring overall, playing 3 fewer games).

He was certainly better than Forsberg when they were teammates. Better than Lidstrom too.

If Sundin were teammates with either Sakic or Forsberg in the NHL for a long period, there is a good chance he would have outscored either of them most of the time. Sundin scored a lot fewer PP points than Sakic, and Sundin scored the 2nd most even-strength points of the DPE (after Jagr). If he had a better situation, he would've scored a lot more points in the NHL.

 

[Boxscore]

Wow, great stuff here guys. Thank you for contributing. These videos are great!

 

[mrhockey193195]

Back to the original thread topic, this is one of the bigger "what ifs" to me. I definitely think that Sundin slots in at RW, since he had experience on the wing and you had the perfect 3C in Ricci. Can you imagine this offense going into 94-95?

Kamensky-Sakic-Nolan
Kovalenko-Forsberg-Sundin
Deadmarch-Ricci-Young

 

[Dingo]

Sundin has always been underrated, I think the most underrated star player of the past 30 years.

When he reached his prime in Quebec, he outscored Sakic when they were teammates (in Sundin's final 2 seasons in Quebec). He was then traded to Toronto, where Gilmour was being called by many as very close to the best player in the NHL, and Sundin easily outscores him all 3 of the seasons they are teammates. And on Team Sweden, Sundin almost always outscored and outplayed Forsberg when they were teammates.

Sundin led Team Sweden in scoring in best-on-best 3 times, was 2nd once, and 3rd twice. He led the entire 2002 Olympics in scoring and led the entire 1996 World Cup in PPG (3rd in scoring overall, playing 3 fewer games).

He was certainly better than Forsberg when they were teammates. Better than Lidstrom too.

If Sundin were teammates with either Sakic or Forsberg in the NHL for a long period, there is a good chance he would have outscored either of them most of the time. Sundin scored a lot fewer PP points than Sakic, and Sundin scored the 2nd most even-strength points of the DPE (after Jagr). If he had a better situation, he would've scored a lot more points in the NHL.

Do you have a site for even strength points? I think quant only goes back about ten years.

As for TS - Forsberg played left wing to Sundin in 2006. Doesn’t mean he would have otherwise, as he was injured and likely too out of shape to play 200ft.
That line of those two and Modin was the Legion of Doom International, imo. Not quite as vicious, but as vicious as the rules allowed. I remember several cute zone entries and a dipsy doodle by either Mats or Peter, and, if they lost the puck, one of the other two guys would politely smash the offending defender. Beautiful.

 

[Boxscore]

Back to the original thread topic, this is one of the bigger "what ifs" to me. I definitely think that Sundin slots in at RW, since he had experience on the wing and you had the perfect 3C in Ricci. Can you imagine this offense going into 94-95?

Kamensky-Sakic-Nolan
Kovalenko-Forsberg-Sundin
Deadmarch-Ricci-Young

Absolutely sick. Then you still have Rucinsky on the horizon and Simon on the 4th line scaring clubs to depth. The Nords still could have flipped Nolan for Ozolinsh and just promoted Rucinsky. Or they could have tried to trade Rucinsky+ for a lesser offensive D.

But just think if your 4 core offensive players in the 90's were: Sakic, Forsberg, Sundin, Nolan. That's absolutely terrifying.

 

[GlitchMarner]

Do you have a site for even strength points? I think quant only goes back about ten years.

As for TS - Forsberg played left wing to Sundin in 2006. Doesn’t mean he would have otherwise, as he was injured and likely too out of shape to play 200ft.
That line of those two and Modin was the Legion of Doom International, imo. Not quite as vicious, but as vicious as the rules allowed. I remember several cute zone entries and a dipsy doodle by either Mats or Peter, and, if they lost the puck, one of the other two guys would politely smash the offending defender. Beautiful.

Brodeur is a Fraud: Why Couldn't Mats Sundin Score on the Power Play?


"Sundin has a very impressive record of even strength scoring. From 1996-97 to 2001-02, he finished in the top 20 in the league in even strength scoring in six consecutive seasons while amassing 338 points at even strength over that span, the second-best total in the league behind only Jaromir Jagr. When you take into account Sundin's usual lack of top linemates and coach Pat Quinn's favoured strategy of rolling four lines that had the byproduct of reducing the available ice time for his #1 centre relative to other stars around the league, Sundin's scoring rates are even more impressive.

Here are the even strength and power play scoring rates during the regular season and playoffs for 8 of the top centers in the league from 1997-98 to 2003-04 (plus Brendan Shanahan, given all the recent discussion of whether he was more deserving than Sundin):

Player	RS EV	RS PP	PO EV	PO PP
Forsberg	2.94	6.36	3.11	5.43
Sundin	2.66	4.04	2.35	3.23
Sakic	2.64	5.46	1.94	5.20
Lindros	2.59	4.27	1.72	1.72
Turgeon	2.53	4.96	2.24	4.94
Modano	2.36	4.98	2.05	4.95
Yashin	2.28	4.75	0.99	3.59
Yzerman	2.26	4.98	1.99	5.08
Shanahan	2.23	5.24	1.95	3.88

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Sundin ranks second to only Forsberg in both the regular season and the playoffs in his rate of even strength point production. Sundin also had the best even strength goalscoring rate in the regular season as well as the fourth-best pace in the playoffs. However, the former Leaf captain ranks dead last in power play scoring in the regular season, and only Lindros (who had all of 7 playoff games played during this period) ranks below him in playoff power play scoring.

I checked the participation rates for the centers (percentage of team goals while a player was on the ice on which they recorded either a goal or an assist) to see if there were any major discrepancies:

Forsberg: 86.4% EV, 69.8% PP
Sundin: 83.9% EV, 64.4% PP
Sakic: 87.1% EV, 66.1% PP
Lindros: 81.5% EV, 64.4% PP
Turgeon: 85.7% EV, 70.0% PP
Modano: 83.8% EV, 64.7% PP
Yashin: 83.3% EV, 74.7% PP
Yzerman: 78.5% EV, 59.3% PP

Sundin's rates are pretty typical in both game situations. His power play rate is slightly below the group average, but is identical to that of Lindros and very close to Modano's. Yzerman's PP number is interesting, given that it is much lower than the others. To add to that, Brendan Shanahan's participation rate in the same unit was 61.4%. These numbers suggest that the Red Wings' dominant power play unit was more of a team effort than, say, the Colorado Avalanche power play which was very dependent on Sakic and Forsberg.

Was Mats Sundin a poor performer on the power play, or was he merely a victim of a poor special teams unit in Toronto? It's probably at least a bit of both. Sundin apparently wasn't good enough to singlehandedly lift his team's unit above average, but he did score 47 points with the man advantage with Quebec in 1992-93 as a member of a standout PP lineup also consisting of Sakic and Steve Duchesne. Sundin also saw his rate jump in 2002-03 to 5.1 PPP/60 after several seasons in a row in the 3s or low 4s. Over the remainder of his career Sundin never again dropped below 5.2. Maybe he finally figured out how to score as a 31-year old, or maybe adding teammates like Nolan, Mogilny and Nieuwendyk had an impact and helped boost Sundin's scoring statistics.

It is interesting to compare the power play numbers for Sundin's Maple Leafs with Brendan Shanahan's Detroit Red Wings during the same period (1998 to 2004). Putting the top 10 in power play goals for each team side by side really illustrates the difference in quality, and does seem to suggest that Sundin would have most likely been able to rack up a lot more points if he had better teammates to share the load with the man advantage.

Detroit Red Wings, Power Play Goals ('98-04):

1. Brendan Shanahan, 81
2. Steve Yzerman, 52
3. Nicklas Lidstrom, 46
4. Sergei Fedorov, 46
5. Tomas Holmstrom, 43
6. Brett Hull, 29
7. Martin Lapointe, 25
8. Igor Larionov, 21
9. Vyacheslav Kozlov, 20
10. Luc Robitaille, 16

Toronto Maple Leafs, Power Play Goals ('98-04):

1. Mats Sundin, 69
2. Gary Roberts, 28
3. Sergei Berezin, 27
4. Bryan McCabe, 22
5. Steve Thomas, 21
6. Darcy Tucker, 21
7. Jonas Hoglund, 17
8. Igor Korolev, 14
8. Alexander Mogilny, 14
10. Mikael Renberg, 13

I think Sundin was disadvantaged by team factors, particularly from 1997 to 2002, which also happens to be his peak period of even strength scoring. As the team's best player he should shoulder some of the blame for Toronto being so mediocre with the man advantage, but results from earlier and later in his career show that when Sundin did have the good fortune to play together with star linemates then he was able to post better power play scoring numbers. Pumping up his PP scoring stats could have moved Sundin from the 75-85 point range to a consistent 90+, which would have made him a more significant factor in the overall scoring race and in turn would have seen him viewed in a much more positive light today."

 

[Dingo]

Brodeur is a Fraud: Why Couldn't Mats Sundin Score on the Power Play?


"Sundin has a very impressive record of even strength scoring. From 1996-97 to 2001-02, he finished in the top 20 in the league in even strength scoring in six consecutive seasons while amassing 338 points at even strength over that span, the second-best total in the league behind only Jaromir Jagr. When you take into account Sundin's usual lack of top linemates and coach Pat Quinn's favoured strategy of rolling four lines that had the byproduct of reducing the available ice time for his #1 centre relative to other stars around the league, Sundin's scoring rates are even more impressive.

Here are the even strength and power play scoring rates during the regular season and playoffs for 8 of the top centers in the league from 1997-98 to 2003-04 (plus Brendan Shanahan, given all the recent discussion of whether he was more deserving than Sundin):

Player	RS EV	RS PP	PO EV	PO PP
Forsberg	2.94	6.36	3.11	5.43
Sundin	2.66	4.04	2.35	3.23
Sakic	2.64	5.46	1.94	5.20
Lindros	2.59	4.27	1.72	1.72
Turgeon	2.53	4.96	2.24	4.94
Modano	2.36	4.98	2.05	4.95
Yashin	2.28	4.75	0.99	3.59
Yzerman	2.26	4.98	1.99	5.08
Shanahan	2.23	5.24	1.95	3.88

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Sundin ranks second to only Forsberg in both the regular season and the playoffs in his rate of even strength point production. Sundin also had the best even strength goalscoring rate in the regular season as well as the fourth-best pace in the playoffs. However, the former Leaf captain ranks dead last in power play scoring in the regular season, and only Lindros (who had all of 7 playoff games played during this period) ranks below him in playoff power play scoring.

I checked the participation rates for the centers (percentage of team goals while a player was on the ice on which they recorded either a goal or an assist) to see if there were any major discrepancies:

Forsberg: 86.4% EV, 69.8% PP
Sundin: 83.9% EV, 64.4% PP
Sakic: 87.1% EV, 66.1% PP
Lindros: 81.5% EV, 64.4% PP
Turgeon: 85.7% EV, 70.0% PP
Modano: 83.8% EV, 64.7% PP
Yashin: 83.3% EV, 74.7% PP
Yzerman: 78.5% EV, 59.3% PP

Sundin's rates are pretty typical in both game situations. His power play rate is slightly below the group average, but is identical to that of Lindros and very close to Modano's. Yzerman's PP number is interesting, given that it is much lower than the others. To add to that, Brendan Shanahan's participation rate in the same unit was 61.4%. These numbers suggest that the Red Wings' dominant power play unit was more of a team effort than, say, the Colorado Avalanche power play which was very dependent on Sakic and Forsberg.

Was Mats Sundin a poor performer on the power play, or was he merely a victim of a poor special teams unit in Toronto? It's probably at least a bit of both. Sundin apparently wasn't good enough to singlehandedly lift his team's unit above average, but he did score 47 points with the man advantage with Quebec in 1992-93 as a member of a standout PP lineup also consisting of Sakic and Steve Duchesne. Sundin also saw his rate jump in 2002-03 to 5.1 PPP/60 after several seasons in a row in the 3s or low 4s. Over the remainder of his career Sundin never again dropped below 5.2. Maybe he finally figured out how to score as a 31-year old, or maybe adding teammates like Nolan, Mogilny and Nieuwendyk had an impact and helped boost Sundin's scoring statistics.

It is interesting to compare the power play numbers for Sundin's Maple Leafs with Brendan Shanahan's Detroit Red Wings during the same period (1998 to 2004). Putting the top 10 in power play goals for each team side by side really illustrates the difference in quality, and does seem to suggest that Sundin would have most likely been able to rack up a lot more points if he had better teammates to share the load with the man advantage.

Detroit Red Wings, Power Play Goals ('98-04):

1. Brendan Shanahan, 81
2. Steve Yzerman, 52
3. Nicklas Lidstrom, 46
4. Sergei Fedorov, 46
5. Tomas Holmstrom, 43
6. Brett Hull, 29
7. Martin Lapointe, 25
8. Igor Larionov, 21
9. Vyacheslav Kozlov, 20
10. Luc Robitaille, 16

Toronto Maple Leafs, Power Play Goals ('98-04):

1. Mats Sundin, 69
2. Gary Roberts, 28
3. Sergei Berezin, 27
4. Bryan McCabe, 22
5. Steve Thomas, 21
6. Darcy Tucker, 21
7. Jonas Hoglund, 17
8. Igor Korolev, 14
8. Alexander Mogilny, 14
10. Mikael Renberg, 13

I think Sundin was disadvantaged by team factors, particularly from 1997 to 2002, which also happens to be his peak period of even strength scoring. As the team's best player he should shoulder some of the blame for Toronto being so mediocre with the man advantage, but results from earlier and later in his career show that when Sundin did have the good fortune to play together with star linemates then he was able to post better power play scoring numbers. Pumping up his PP scoring stats could have moved Sundin from the 75-85 point range to a consistent 90+, which would have made him a more significant factor in the overall scoring race and in turn would have seen him viewed in a much more positive light today."

Thanks for the link, and, for me, those numbers check out. I think Sundin was that good. PP numbers are somewhat a team stat, not just your line, but your team. The team on its heels takes all the holding, hooking and tripping penalties. Those are defensive zone penalties. This is why the “Crosby not having elite wingers” argument that gets thrown around a lot has only partial effect on his numbers. Wingers effect his ES numbers, but that depth at center puts them on the PP, and then those guys play together a man up. MacDavid is a guy that doesn’t get that support.
I think ES numbers tell the most about real offensive hockey, while levelling the board as much as we can with numbers.
Will be looking at the site (which I had forgotten about, only knew it had great goalie stats and articles) in the near future!

 

[feffan]

The Nords still could have flipped Nolan for Ozolinsh and just promoted Rucinsky. Or they could have tried to trade Rucinsky+ for a lesser offensive D.

But just think if your 4 core offensive players in the 90's were: Sakic, Forsberg, Sundin, Nolan. That's absolutely terrifying.

Don´t know what I was thinking last night. So tired I typed Nolans name instead of Clark. Of course you are right

And I agree. That would have been an terrifying core. I think they win more with it. And that´s even if Nolan is used for Ozonlish. But in a perfect world they find another way to get him or a lesser PMD.

 

[Boxscore]

Don´t know what I was thinking last night. So tired I typed Nolans name instead of Clark. Of course you are right

And I agree. That would have been an terrifying core. I think they win more with it. And that´s even if Nolan is used for Ozonlish. But in a perfect world they find another way to get him or a lesser PMD.

It's literally scary. I mean how many teams in the NHL at that time could match a quartet of Sakic, Forsberg, Sundin, Nolan? Let alone Kamensky and Ricci, forming a Big 6. All in their prime! You might have to go back to early-90's Pens for that type of offensive weaponry IMO. (Mario, Jagr, Stevens, Francis, Tocchet...)

 

[Goleafsgo95]

Anyone who says Mats isn't deserving of his 1st ballot induction must be trolling.

 

[Boxscore]

Anyone who says Mats isn't deserving of his 1st ballot induction must be trolling.

Without question. Sundin was a monster. Usually did it himself, never complained. He might be the most underrated player in history in my opinion... never getting the full credit he deserved for really being a one man show until Mogilny arrived.

 

[tony d]

Always liked Sundin. Such a good player. Got to think Quebec might have won the Cup in 1995 had Sundin been playing with Forsberg.

 

[CokenoPepsi]

For two superstar Swedes playing together I always wanted to see Forsberg with Naslund in the NHL

 

[Boxscore]

For two superstar Swedes playing together I always wanted to see Forsberg with Naslund in the NHL

That would have been a treat. They were incredible together in Sweden.



And, another great one!

 

[streitz]

Always liked Sundin. Such a good player. Got to think Quebec might have won the Cup in 1995 had Sundin been playing with Forsberg.

Given how Sundin was always an excellent playoff performer I guess this would of been a sure thing.