Former Toronto Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin knows all too well the feeling of playing under the pressure to waive a no-trade clause and leave the team you’ve spent over a decade with.
That’s why Sundin empathizes with the decision that faces Calgary Flames star Jarome Iginla heading into the April 3 NHL Trade Deadline.
Iginla, who has a no-movement clause, will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
The Flames currently sit in 14th place in the Western Conference and are six points out of a playoff spot with 17 games remaining, which has led to mounting pressure on Iginla to waive his no-movement clause so the Flames can begin building for the future.
“(No decision) is right or wrong,” Sundin told Hockey Central at Noon on Sportsnet 590 The Fan. “It’s just a very individual choice; you have to listen to your heart.”
In Sundin’s final year with the Leafs in 2007-08, the Olympic gold medallist (Turin 2006 Winter Olympics) was in a near identical situation to the one Iginla finds himself in now.
The 42-year-old Swede said he felt at the time he was playing some of his best hockey — averaging just over a point per game — and was contributing to a team that was only a few points out of a playoff spot.
“I just couldn’t picture leaving my team… For me it was the right thing to do at the time,” Sundin said.
Ultimately Sundin chose not to waive his clause. He finished the season with the Leafs, who ended up missing the playoffs.
“There was pressure from everywhere to make a decision,” Sundin explained. “It would have been different if I had a smaller role on my team… right or wrong, I was having a great year and I didn’t want to give up on it.”
Midway through the next season Sundin signed as a free agent with the Vancouver Canucks where he had 28 points in 41 games and then added eight points in eight playoff games. Sundin retired following that season.
Iginla is currently third on his team in scoring with 22 points in 31 games, but many feel he could be a key piece for a team looking to make a serious run at the Stanley Cup.
The 35-year-old, like Sundin, has never won a Cup.
