If you are a Toronto Maple Leafs fan (and this feels odd, since as I am writing this piece, I am wearing an Ottawa Senators jersey as a result of last night's Battle of Ontario tilt), then save the date of February 11, 2012. Why? On that date, the Maple Leafs will raise a banner to honor the player you see in the picture. Yes, Mats Sundin has been either really loved or really hated in his time as a Maple Leaf. Even before he suited up for the Leafs, the opinion has always been divided, largely because he was acquired in a trade in 1994 with the Quebec Nordiques that saw Leafs' fan favorite Wendel Clark go the other way. This trade obviously didn't sit well with some Leafs fans. In 1997, he was named the captain of the team, and would hold that distinction until 2008. It was in the last year as a Maple Leaf that Sundin's detractors really let themselves heard, for Sundin refused to waive his no-trade clause that would have allowed him to be sent to a team that had a chance to win a Stanley Cup. It is this act that many of his detractors point to as a reason to dislike him immensely.
Sundin's time as a Maple Leaf didn't end with a Stanley Cup, or even a Finals appearance for that matter, but when you think of the Maple Leafs and their run of good fortune in the early 2000's, for better or for worse, Sundin was the face of that team. Even when the team wasn't (and still isn't to this point) very good after the lockout, Sundin remained, going down with the ship until after the 2007-08 season, when he became a free agent and eventually signed with Vancouver in the middle of the 2008-09 season. Despite the criticism (fair or unfair), Sundin did everything possible to represent the Maple Leafs in the best light, and now, he will be honored along with the likes of Syl Apps, Doug Gilmour, and yes, Wendel Clark.
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