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Mats Sundin provides insight on locker room culture, says it’s ‘impossible’ to comment on Maple Leafs’ situation now
Photo credit: (Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff)
May 4, 2026, 14:40 EDTUpdated: May 4, 2026, 14:36 EDT
The Toronto Maple Leafs have officially welcomed John Chayka and Mats Sundin as the two men in charge to lead the Maple Leafs’ management group.
Sundin returns to the organization he spent 13 years playing with, including 10 years of donning the “C” on his jersey with this historical Original Six franchise. Sundin was announced as senior executive advisor, and will work hand-in-hand with Chayka during the hockey decision making process.
As the Maple Leafs struggled to a 32-36-14 record during the 2025-26 season, questions of pride within the organization, a poor culture, and a poisoned locker room swirled as the club limped through the final two months of the regular season.
The return of Sundin, who knows the market so well and knows what it means to be a leader in this city, brings hope that whatever issues that transpired within the dressing room this year will be extinguished by the time the puck drops for next season’s campaign.
During the opening introductory press conference on Monday afternoon, Sundin was asked about the team’s culture and what it takes to be in a winning dressing room.
“It’s an impossible question to answer now,” Sundin said. “All former players can agree that players talk about a good locker room, but they don’t actually know it until they’re in a winning one.”
The feeling that something was off in the room only took on a greater life when Maple Leafs forward Max Domi was asked about what transpired leading up to former general manager Brad Treliving’s firing.
“Listen, man, at the end of the day, what happens on the ice is up to us, what happens in that locker room is up to us,” Domi said to David Alter of The Hockey News. “We’re not going to get into what went wrong with you guys. Quite frankly, it’s none of your business. It’s our group’s business, and we’ll keep it that way.”
Sundin, who retired as the Maple Leafs’ all-time leader in goals and points, is ready for the challenge ahead, even if that comes with the potential risk of hurting a franchise icon’s name in a market he became so beloved in.
“This is the hockey capital of the world. We’ve got to do everything we can to deliver a winning team here and make you guys proud,” Sundin said. “I don’t worry about the risk to start with. I have knowledge and experience from being a player here, being a captain here, during an era where we went to the conference finals.”
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