Mats Sundin Leaves on Top

Mats Sundin, who announced his retirement Wednesday morning at a press conference in Sweden, was a winner.

Don't let the lack of a Stanley Cup on his resume fool you. Instead, just add Sundin to the list headed by Ernie Banks of the best professional athletes to not win his league's championship. When the magnificent Maple Leaf is inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in a few years, he'll have nothing to apologize for.

The big Swede had 1,349 points in 1,346 NHL regular season games over 18 seasons, remarkable numbers in terms of offensive output and his ability to stay healthy. He failed to reach the 70-point plateau only three times: his rookie year in Quebec, the strike-shortened season in 1994-95 and the Sundin-shortened final season when he signed with the Vancouver Canucks for the second half. He never missed more than 12 games in a single season because of injuries. He played the full schedule nine times.

The 6-5 former blond retired at age 38 if not at the top of his game, certainly close enough to not leave behind embarrassing clips looking well past his prime. How many NHL players leave the game at 38 and can say they were a point-a-game player in their final postseason? The Canucks came up short in the second round last May, but Sundin was a very respectable 3-5-8 in eight playoff games.

If you want titles, Sundin's got some. He captained Sweden to the gold medal at the 2006 Olympics in Turin. He also owns gold medals from the 1991, 1992 and 1998 World Championships.

In the NHL, he'll likely be best remembered as the first European captain in the history of the storied Toronto Maple Leafs franchise. In 1999, he led the Leafs to the conference final. The five top scorers behind Sundin on Toronto that season were Steve Thomas, Sergei Berezin, Derek King, Igor Korolev and Mike Johnson -- Thomas aside, not exactly a world-class supporting cast.

Sundin will also be remembered for his elegance on the ice and off it. Last year's Favre-ian flip-flop is the only wart in an impeccable career of sportsmanship. Even then, it's clear Sundin was only guilty of trying to finish his career in grand style. His plan did not work out, so Wednesday he made sure he got it right.

Mats Sundin is not coming back to the NHL, and that's too bad. For 18 years, he graced the league and the game with his presence.