Published 2024-10-18 07.00
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<a href="https://www.archysport.com/2022/11/nhl-tears-flowed-in-the-nhl-in-toronto-they-applauded-the-terminally-ill-legend/" title="NHL | Tears flowed in the NHL. In Toronto, they applauded the terminally ill legend”>Mats Sundin was in the middle of a successful career with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
At eleven in the evening he was woken up by an unknown voice, rough and calm: “If you play tomorrow, you’re dead.”.
“My head was spinning. I didn’t think I would be able to sleep more that night,” writes “Sudden”.
At the age of 53, Mats Sundin tells about the hitherto unknown event in the biography “Tur och retur – My story”.
Every night he had the same evening routine at home in the apartment on Bloor Street, he went to bed before eleven o’clock.
He checked that the door was locked, turned off all the lights and brushed his teeth while his mind often wandered to hockey.
One winter evening during the 1998/1999 season, he was lying in bed and about to fall asleep when the darkness was dissolved by a blue glow because the phone rang.
The man on the other end threatened him with death and then immediately ended the call.
“The heart was pounding. I turned on the lamp, sat up in bed and listened intently to all the sounds around me,” writes Mats Sundin.
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full screen Mats “Sudden” Sundin releases an autobiography. Photo: Magnus Wennman
Extra security in the arena
He called Paul, who was a retired police officer and head of security for the Toronto Maple Leafs: “Lock all the doors and turn off the phone, Mats. I won’t call again until tomorrow morning, so don’t answer any calls. Try to get some sleep.”
Finally he fell asleep, when the alarm clock rang at seven in the morning it felt as if he had been up all night.
Paul called and asked him to come to the warm-up as usual, there he would feel safe and they would discuss the situation with the NHL.
There, Mats Sundin was told that he would play the match as usual and that they would have extra security in place in the arena after the evaluation with the league management.
“I didn’t want to hear that voice in my head and wonder how he got my number. The rest of the day I was at full throttle. The slightest sound made me flinch. Standing on the blue line at the pregame ceremony, I looked up at the crowd. I never used to do that otherwise. I had never felt unsafe in the arena before or worried about who was in the audience. During the first changes, I felt worried,” writes Mats Sundin.
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full screen Mats Sundin in Toronto. Photo: Bildbyrån / Bildbyrån
“Of course I was cut”
Finally the tension released, he played well and the Toronto Maple Leafs won the game.
– It is clear that I was cut when I was going to bed there in the evening as a 27-28-year-old. In retrospect, you realize that maybe it was someone who had bet money on the match or something. At least that’s how the speculation went. I never heard anything from the man again, says “Sudden”.
He compares the interest in the Toronto Maple Leafs to the biggest clubs in the world such as Barcelona, Manchester United and the New York Yankees.
– It is complex and difficult to be a player in the Toronto Maple Leafs given the enormous interest compared to other teams. It will be a different pressure and make it a little more difficult, says “Sudden”.
The draft pick from Djurgården had an NHL career of 13 seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs (ten of them as captain), four seasons with the Quebec Nordiques and one season with the Vancouver Canucks.
The book is written together with Amy Stuart from Toronto, she is an author and head coach of a youth ice hockey team.
It is available from October 22.
