Pat Quinn hasn’t seen many leaders quite like Mats Sundin.
The former Toronto Maple Leafs head coach was thrilled and honoured he was able to have a captain like Sundin in his locker room.
“For those six or seven years, we were a pretty darn good team and a lot that had to do with the leadership of Mats (Sundin),” Quinn told Daren Millard and Nick Kypreos on HOCKEY CENTRAL At Noon on Friday. “He’s one of those guys that gave you his best all the time.”
Quinn, who coached other prominent leaders in hockey such as Bobby Clarke and Trevor Linden, said Sundin’s modesty was his most impressive quality.
“What separates ordinary guys from real leaders is humility and that’s what he had,” Quinn explained. “He was a guy that didn’t need the credit … He had that presence but it wasn’t about him pounding his own chest. If he did ever speak up, it would be in a controlled manner in which the one direction was getting his team back to business.”
“We have this misconception that a great leader is someone who stands up in the room,” Quinn said. “Every once in a while, someone gets the reputation that yells at someone else and it works for a minute. The real leaders don’t do it that way. The real leaders do it by example. They’re competent in their own jobs. They have intelligence about what’s going on. They understand the game well.”
The 69-year-old led the Maple Leafs franchise during their most successful era in recent history. Quinn’s teams went to the Eastern Conference final two separate times and were perennial playoff contenders during his seven years with the club, apart from 2005-06 as the Leafs missed the playoffs in his last season coaching the team.
Quinn attributed a large amount of the team’s run of success to the special qualities that Sundin provided the franchise on and off the ice.
“We didn’t have a lot of pure scorers. We had some really good hockey players. Jonas (Hoglund) fit in pretty well with him. Mats enjoyed playing with him. He wasn’t going to belittle anyone; he was going to bring them up. He raised the level of his team and teammates. He did that with Jonas. I wouldn’t class Mats as the pure playmaker.”
According to Quinn, Sundin’s skill set was extremely unique and special. He was a complete player and could provide a team with more than simply being a great scorer or a great playmaker. He admitted he hasn’t seen anyone quite like Sundin after the former Leafs captain retired following a brief stint with the Vancouver Canucks in 2008-09.
“He was big, strong, had speed, could take the outside, could take it deep,” Quinn explained. “He could hold the puck because he was good and strong and had that speed … He didn’t have that guy to give the puck to. Get puck to right areas for us to score goals. He was just a pure hockey player.”
Tucker loved playing with Sundin:
Former Toronto Maple Leaf Darcy Tucker couldn’t say enough good things about his former captain.
Tucker joined Brady & Lang Friday morning to discuss his relationship with Sundin during their time with the Leafs.
“He was always in the gym working out,” Tucker said. “Mats was always riding the bike — before practice. Just a very committed guy to helping the team win and being a good captain and leader…”
The former Leafs’ agitator echoed Quinn’s sentiments with the the type of special leadership qualities that the Swedish superstar showed in the dressing room.
“Always accountable, first guy to take to the media,” he explained. “Didn’t matter if we won or lost. Always there to answer the media questions. First thing I remember about being with Mats in the dressing room.
“Making sure he was front and centre and taking pressure off teammates… It’s always nice when you have a captain that’s very well spoken and looking to take care of his teammates.”
