Captain’s no-trade decision divided L

Great athletes often have complicated legacies. Mats Sundin is no different. In 2008, with Maple Leafs interim GM Cliff Fletcher tasked with rebuilding a flagging squad, the club asked the 37-year-old Sundin to waive his no-trade clause. The team’s captain and all-time leading scorer, set to become an unrestricted free agent that summer, declined to do so.

“I have carefully considered the team’s request that I waive my notrade clause,” Sundin said in a state- ment released by his agent, J.P. Barry. “I have always believed I would finish my career as a Toronto Maple Leaf so the actual request was still a very difficult one for me to contemplate.

“I have spoken to and listened to my family and those closest to me about this issue. In the end, there is no right decision in a situation like this one.

“I cannot leave my teammates and join another NHL club at this time,” Sundin added. “I have never believed in the concept of a rental player.

“It is my belief that winning the Stanley Cup is the greatest thing you can achieve in hockey but for me, in order to appreciate it, you have to have been part of the entire journey and that means October through June. I hope everyone will understand and respect my decision.”

The decision garnered mixed reviews from the blue-and-white faithful. Some admired Sundin for sticking it out until the end of his $5.5 million contract. Others said he hurt the team’s rebuilding process through a misguided sense of loyalty.

Readers leaving their memories of Sundin on thestar.com this week focused heavily on the no-trade decision, with fans coming down on both

sides of the issue.

One said Sundin “held the team hostage with his trade deadline stance.” But another praised Sundin as “a guy who actually honoured his contract and got vilified for it.”

Sundin’s decision the following December to sign with Vancouver, after saying he always believed he would finish his career as a Leaf, stung some fans too. But Sundin still received a hero’s welcome when he returned to the Air Canada Centre in a Canucks uniform in February 2009: he received a two-minute standing ovation that brought tears to his eyes.