Zizing 'Em Up: Sundin says 2022 Hall class boon for Sweden hockey

TAMPERE, Finland -- Mats Sundin said the induction of three Swedish players into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Nov. 14 will be a much-needed boost of adrenaline to the sport in his native country.

It may be even more moving with Swedish newspaper Expressen reporting Saturday that Hall of Fame Swedish defenseman Borje Salming will fly in to be on hand despite his battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The careers of forwards Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin and Daniel Alfredsson, and those of the entire 2022 Hall class, will be celebrated in Toronto during the weekend festivities. In the process, the induction of the three will raise the number of Swedish players in the Hall from four to seven.
Prior to this year, Sundin (Class of 2012), fellow forward Peter Forsberg (2014), and defensemen Borje Salming (1996) and Nicklas Lidstrom (2015) were the only Sweden-born NHL players in the Hall. With goalie Henrik Lundqvist eligible to be inducted next year, that number could hit eight by next November.
"It couldn't come at a better time," Sundin told NHL.com in a phone interview from Sweden. "Hockey is at a bit of a downturn here right now.
"There are so many things for kids here to do right now. Hockey is only one of the options. I think there are only 70,000 or 80,000 registered players in our country right now. These things go in trends, up and down. And right now, perhaps the publicity that Swedish hockey will get (next) weekend will help gain momentum again.
"These are great players who are going in, the type people should be proud of."
Sundin would know. He was teammates with Alfredsson and the Sedin twins during Sweden's gold-medal performance at the 2006 Turin Olympics, a victory that is regarded as one of the greatest moments in Swedish hockey history.
Henrik Sedin is the Vancouver Canucks all-time leader in assists (830), points (1,070), games played (1,330), plus-minus (plus-165) and power play points (369). He also had 78 points (23 goals, 55 assists) in 105 playoff games. His 1,070 points from 2000-18 are the fifth most in the NHL in that span.

He also won the Hart Trophy as the NHL most valuable player and the Art Ross Trophy as the League's leading scorer in 2009-10, when he had 112 points (29 goals, 83 assists) in 82 games.
Daniel had 1,041 points (393 goals, 648 assists) from 2000-18, seventh in the NHL in that span, the 393 goals first in Canucks history. He is second in assists, points, plus-minus (plus-147), games played (1,306) and power-play points (367). He had 71 points (25 goals, 46 assists) in 102 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Alfredsson had 1,157 points (444 goals, 713 assists) in 1,246 games during an 18-season NHL career from 1995-2014. He played 17 seasons with the Ottawa Senators and his final season with the Detroit Red Wings. He won the Calder Trophy as the NHL rookie of the year in 1995-96, when he had 61 points (26 goals, 35 assists).
Sundin and his family will be in Toronto to welcome his countrymen into the Hall next weekend. In addition, the four will be reunited on the ice as part of Team Sundin, which will face a team led by Eric Lindros in the Hyundai Hockey Hall of Fame Legends Classic at Scotiabank Arena on Nov.13.
"The Olympics were a great moment for our country," Sundin said. "And to see these guys honored is the type of great story that can hopefully elevate interest in the sport again.
"Don't get me wrong. It's still popular. But this should help."

Borje boosters

The Expressen report said Salming will be in Toronto to meet with fans even though the ALS has stripped him of the ability to speak. His wife, Pia, told the newspaper that he's received clearance from his doctors, and as long as her husband gives the thumbs up every day, the plan is to go. She added that should he change his mind in the next few days, the trip is off.
Certainly there will be no shortage of thoughts and prayers aimed at the 71-year-old, who was the first Swedish player ever inducted into the Hall. It was reported in August that the quickly advancing disease took away his ability to speak and made it difficult for him to eat in recent months.
He was diagnosed with ALS earlier this year. Salming, who had 787 points (150 goals, 637 assists) in 1,148 games in 17 NHL seasons (16 with the Maple Leafs, one with the Red Wings), is in the thoughts of the Swedish Hall of Famers who consider him the one who opened the door for them to play in the NHL.
In Lidstrom's case, he accepted an invitation to serve on the board of the recently formed Borje Salming ALS Foundation. He's been in regular contact with the family, specifically Salming's wife, Pia.
Sundin, too, has reached out.
"He's such a strong, strong man but this is the fight of his life," Sundin said. "He means so much to me. He paved the way for all of us when he went to the NHL and joined the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1973."
Sundin, the Maple Leafs all-time leading scorer with 987 points (420 goals, 567 assists), recalled a conversation he had with Salming after Toronto offered to make him the first non-Canadian captain in franchise history in 1997.
"I wasn't sure about it so I reached out to Borje for advice," Sundin recalled. "Borje immediately told me to take it. He told me he'd once rejected a similar offer from the team, and that it was one of the biggest regrets of his career.
"He's such a mentor and inspiration for all of us. We're all thinking of him."

The case for Mogilny

When looking at the candidates for the Class of 2023, the name that jumps out is that of Lundqvist, who played his entire career with the New York Rangers from 2005-20. Lundqvist is sixth in NHL history in wins (459), ninth in games played (887) and 17th in shutouts (64). He is fourth in save percentage (.918) and tied with Pekka Rinne for eighth in goals-against average (2.43) among the 78 goalies who played at least 500 NHL games.
After that, the choice here would be Alexander Mogilny, who inexplicably has been passed over since 2009.
The obvious comparison to Mogilny would be Paul Kariya (Class of 2017), an argument made by NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen in 2019. Mogilny played 990 NHL games, one more than Kariya, and had 71 more goals (473 to 402) and 43 more points (1,032 to 989). He won the Stanley Cup (2000 New Jersey Devils), something Kariya never did. They each won gold medals at the Olympics (Mogilny with the Soviet Union in 1988, Kariya with Canada in 2002), the World Championship (Mogilny 1989, Kariya 1994) and the World Junior Championship (Mogilny 1989, Kariya 1993).

Mogilny's 76 goals for the Buffalo Sabres in 1992-93 are tied for the fifth most in a single NHL season. In the process, he had the type of electrifying skill that had you on the edge of your seat every time he touched the puck.
He's also a pioneering player; he was the first player from the Soviet Union to defect for the purpose of playing in the League.
It's been a long enough wait. It's time.

Quote/unquote

"I love the national anthem even though I didn't know what they were saying."
-- Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar about the atmosphere at Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland after his team's 6-3 victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets at the 2022 NHL Global Series on Friday.

The Sunday list

Columbus Blue Jackets president John Davidson had COVID-19 when he received word that free agent Johnny Gaudreau was seriously interested in joining the team last summer. The forward eventually agreed to a seven-year, $68.25 million contract on July 13. "It came together quick," Davidson said. "Sitting at home with COVID wasn't a lot of fun but it was nice to kind of sit back and watch the whole thing develop." Four months after the signing, we asked Davidson about three things he's learned about Gaudreau that he didn't know before.
1.His 200-foot game: "I'd heard Darryl Sutter, his coach in Calgary, talk about it, but it was really impressive seeing it for yourself on a regular basis. We used to call it back checking -- it's called backtracking now -- and he's so good at it. He doesn't get enough credit for it."
2. His 'It' Factor: "You see the highlights but it's different live. He has the special quality of bringing people out of their seats with the type of electricity only a few players can produce. He's had a couple of end-to-end rushes during our home games where you can see the fans saying: 'Wow.'"
3. Practice habits: "There's plenty of video available about an opposing player's performance in games but not so much in practice. We've now seen firsthand how hard he works day in, day out. It's a habit all the top players have, and he subscribes to it."