Does Mats Sundin belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Mats Sundin was inducted into the Hall of Fame very quickly. But there’s controversy over his induction because, unlike many Hall of Famers, Sundin’s case is one built on a consistency argument, not a “peak” or greatness argument.

We talk about Sundin’s case here:

Mats Sundin’s Career

• NHL: 1990-2008; 18 seasons, all quality
• Totals:
  • 564G (21st All Time at his retirement, now 23rd, 1st Swede),
  • 785A (3rd Swede) for
  • 1349P (25th All Time at his retirement, 1st Swede All Time),
  • +73 in
  • 1346 games;
  • 19:50 ATOI (since 1998-99);
  • 114.4 PS
  • Sundin is 16th All Time in Offensive Point Shares (1st Swede)
• Per Game: Sundin is 3rd All Time in GPG and PPG among Swedish NHL players
• Draft: In his draft year (1989), Sundin, drafted 1st overall, is
  • 1st in Goals and Points
  • 2nd in Assists and Games Played
  • 6th in Plus/Minus
• Era: Of the 9 players to play in at least 1,250 games between 1990 and 2008, Sundin is
  • 3rd in Goals, GPG, Assists, Points and Point Shares
  • 4th in APG
  • 2nd in PPG and Offensive Point Shares
  • 7th (3rd last) in Plus/Minus
  • Also, nobody was more consistent than Sundin
• 82-game average: 34G, 48A for 82P, +4
• 3-year peak (1992-95): 82-game average of 40G, 54A for 94P, +7 [Note: this is hard to calculate because Sundin’s 3 best years span 13 seasons]
• Possession (since 2007-08, i.e. 2 seasons):
  • 52.4% Corsi For
  • 1.3% Relative Corsi For
  • 53.4% Fenwick For
  • 3.4% Relative Fenwick For
• Playoffs: 38G, 44A for 82P in 91 games, +2
• Adjusted:
  • Hockey-Reference:
    • Totals:
      • 599G (21st All Time),
      • 811A for
      • 1410P (18th All Time)
    • Adjusted 82-game average: 36G, 49A for 86P (+4P per 82 games)
    • Per Game: Sundin is not in the Top 25 of any Adjusted per game category. However, if the qualifier is set at 820 games, Sundin is
      • 24th All Time in Adjusted PPG
      • And if the qualifier is set to 1,230 games, Sundin is
        • 13th All Time in Adjusted GPG
        • 21st All Time in Adjusted APG
        • 11th All Time in Adjusted PPG
  • VsX:
    • 582G
    • 854A
    • 1,284P (24th All Time)
    • Per Game: Sundin isn’t in the Top 25. However, if the qualifer is set to 1,230 games, Sundin is
      • 18th All Time in VsX Adjusted GPG
      • 17th All Time in VsX Adjusted PPG
• Traded once in his prime:
  • Traded (at 23) with Garth Butcher (31), Todd Warriner (20) and a 1st rounder (became Nolan Baumgartner) for Wendel Clark (27), Lefebvre (26), Landon Wilson (29) and a 1st rounder (turned into nobody) – our 2nd Best Leafs Trade of All Time
  • Rights traded at end of career but allowed to lapse.

Mats Sundin’s Accomplishments:

• Top Player:
  • Top 5 Offensive Player once (‘02),
  • Top 10 twice (‘97)
• Goals:
  • Leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in Goals once,
    • Top 10 three times
  • GPG leader-boards:
    • Top 10 in GPG twice
  • Single-season totals:
    • 45 goals once,
    • 40 goals three times,
    • 35 goals four times,
    • 30 goals thirteen times (1 of only 10 players ever),
    • 25 goals fifteen times (1 of only 11 players),
    • 20 goals seventeen times (1 of only 14 players ever), i.e. all but one year he was in the league
• Assists:
  • Leader-boards:
    • Top 10 in Assists once
  • Single-season totals:
    • 60 assists once,
    • 50 assists five times,
    • 40 assists thirteen times (1 of only 22 players ever)
• Points:
  • Leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in Points once,
    • Top 10 twice
  • PPG leader-boards:
    • Top 10 in PPG once
  • Single-season totals:
    • 110 points once,
    • 90 points twice,
    • 80 points six times,
    • 70 points fifteen times (1 of only 6 players ever) including 12 straight seasons,
    • 50 points sixteen times (1 of only 23 players)
• All Star:
  • 2nd Team All Star twice
  • 8 All Star Game appearances
  • Three Stars:
    • Weekly 1st Star once
    • Weekly 3rd Star once
• VsX Peak:
  • Best 7 Seasons:
    • Goals: 85th All Time
    • Assists: 111th All Time
    • Points: 89th All Time
  • Best 10 Seasons:
    • Goals: 55th All Time
    • Assists: 81st All Time
    • Points: 60th All Time
• Playoffs:
  • Led 5 playoff series in Points (t-22nd All Time)
  • Led 29% of his career playoff series in Points (16th All Time)
  • Top 3 in Points in 53% of his career playoff series (23rd All Time)

Mats Sundin’s Great Teams:

• NHL:
  • Best Player on one Final Four (‘99 Leafs),
  • Injured (missed 12 games) on one Final Four (‘02 Leafs)
• Olympics:
  • Top 3 Forward (by points) on one Olympic Champion (‘06 Sweden)
• Canada/World Cup:
  • Best Player? (Tournament All Star) on two semi-finalists (‘91, ‘96 Sweden) [Not sure 1991 should count as a “Great Team” as they were technically in 4th place by goal differential]
• World Championships:
  • Tournament MVP on one World Championship Runner Up (‘03 Sweden)
  • Best Player (led tournament in points) on one World Championship Bronze (‘94 Sweden)
  • Best Player? (led tournament in points but not given any awards) on one World Champion (‘91 Sweden)
  • Best Skater (awarded “Best Forward”) on one World Champion (‘92 Sweden)
  • Top 3 Forward (“Media All Star”) on one World Champion (‘98 Sweden)
  • Role Player (by points and games) on one World Champion Runner Up (‘90 Sweden)
  • Injured (missed 7 of 9 games) on one World Championship Bronze (‘01 Sweden)