King

Börje Salming's decorated NHL career spanned seventeen seasons from 1973 to 1990 between Toronto and Detroit, with a resumé boasting 1,148 games and 787 points. A two-time runner-up for the Norris Trophy, Salming became the first Swedish-born player to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996 and two years later entered the IIHF Hall of Fame. The blueliner was an NHL first-team All-Star in 1977 and a five-time NHL second-team All-Star between 1975 and 1980. The Leafs retired his number in 2016. Salming died of ALS in 2022.

Ola Liljedahl is a Swedish freelance writer, columnist, and author.

Mats Sundin is the longest-serving captain not born in North America in NHL history. He enjoyed a prolific eighteen-season NHL career as well as a superb international career playing for Sweden, his homeland. When he was selected by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft, he became the first European-born player ever drafted first overall. The Nordiques traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the rest is hockey history. At the time of his retirement, Sundin stood as the Toronto Maple Leafs’ all-time franchise leader in goals and points. A quiet leader, the durable Sundin is regarded as one of the finest Swedes to have played in the National Hockey League, and one of the greatest Toronto Maple Leafs of all time. He lives in Sweden and visits Toronto often.