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Mats Sundin Reveals Maple Leafs’ Toughest Opponent
Mats Sundin recently revealed which team challenged the Toronto Maple Leafs the most during his tenure. Sundin pointed to the New Jersey Devils as Toronto’s toughest challenge during both the regular season and playoffs.
New Jersey featured a talented roster with plenty of experience. The Devils won the Stanley Cup in 1995 and added two more Cups in 2000 and 2003. Their sustained success forced other Eastern Conference teams to make roster moves in an effort to compete with them.
During Sundin’s time in Toronto, management took an aggressive approach to strengthen the roster. The organization surrounded Sundin with complimentary veteran pieces in hopes of pushing the Maple Leafs deeper into the postseason.
Mats Sundin Praises the New Jersey Devils of Early 2000s
Mats Sundin praised the New Jersey Devils of the early 200s for their strong performances, which consistently made them a difficult playoff matchup. Then-general manager Lou Lamoriello constructed a physical, defensive team that frustrated their opponents.
New Jersey was perennial contender and reached the Stanley Cup Final three times in a four-year span from 2000-2004.
The Maple Leafs faced the Devils in back-to-back 2nd round playoff series in 2000 and 2001. Toronto fell short, losing their playoff matchups in six games and seven games, respectively.
New Jersey reached the Stanley Cup Finals in both seasons, hoisting the Cup in 2000 before losing in 2001.
“The Devils had a fantastic team,” Sundin said during an appearance on The Sheet with Jeff Marek. “They won the Stanley Cup a few times when we ran into them in the 2nd round [of the playoffs], I think, a few times and we took them to six and seven games.”
Toronto and New Jersey had their fair share of heated battles on the ice. In 2001, there was an incident involving Tie Domi and Scott Niedermayer. Domi responded by delivering an elbow to Niedermayer, who had to be stretchered off the ice as a result.
The Leafs and Devils played several closely contested playoff games, with their matchups typically decided by one goal.
Mats Sundin Says New Jersey Devils Had Strong Combination with Defense and Goaltending
Sundin also emphasized the Devils’ strong defensive structure. Their top pairing of Niedermayer and Scott Stevens brought stability, particularly given their style of play.
Stevens was a relentless defenseman known for his open-ice hits and being defensively sound. His presence allowed Niedermayer to take more offensive risks and join the rush when opportunities arose.
“The combination of Scott Stevens and [Scott] Niedermayer, where you have one really solid, strong defensive defenseman that try to hurt the forwards,” Sundin said. “You have Scott Niedermayer on his side that actually beat forwards up the ice and could carry the puck, and be a playmaker.”
Sundin also noted that Vezina-winning goaltender Martin Brodeur made it a lot more difficult to score. He stressed that the combination of the three led to the Devils hoisting multiple Stanley Cups.
“Once you beat [Stevens and Niedermayer], you had Martin Brodeur back there [in goal]. Arguably the best goaltender in the league at the time.”
Giancarlo Aulino Giancarlo Aulino is sports writer who covers UFC for Heavy.com. He began writing for Heavy in 2025 after providing MMA coverage for Sportskeeda. Giancarlo is an experienced journalist and interviewer, having covered soccer clubs Toronto FC and York United FC as a full-season reporter, and also producing sports coverage for Toronto radio station VIBE 105.5FM.
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