Sundin says Ovechkin winning Cup with Capitals 'would be great to see'

TORONTO -- If it looks like Alex Ovechkin has raised his play to another level in these Stanley Cup Playoffs, Mats Sundin can understand why.
Like Ovechkin, Sundin's individual accomplishments were distinctive, but he never won the Stanley Cup. Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals are one win from their first championship after defeating the Vegas Golden Knights 6-2 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday.

"You do want guys who have been in the League a long time like Alex to have a chance to win the Cup," Sundin said Monday. "It would be great to see if that happens."
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Sundin, a Hockey Hall of Fame member who scored 1,349 points (564 goals, 785 assists) in 1,346 games, played 18 NHL seasons (13 with the Toronto Maple Leafs) and never reached the Stanley Cup Final. Ovechkin is in the Cup Final for the first time in his 13th season and can win it in Game 5 on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, SN, TVAS).
"I was fortunate to play 18 years in the National Hockey League, we were in the Conference Finals a couple of times (1999, 2002), but I got so much out of the game of hockey," Sundin said.

Sundin, who played against Ovechkin 11 times during the four seasons when their careers overlapped, said there is no comparison between that Ovechkin and the player he is today.
"He's developed as a leader definitely, you can see in the last few years," Sundin said. "When we used to play him, he didn't do much backchecking and other things like that on the ice. Now he's really leading, and you can see he wants the team to win and do well, and his teammates as well."
Ovechkin has 26 points (14 goals, 12 assists) in 23 playoff games and is a contender for the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the player voted playoff MVP.

Washington is playing its second Cup Final in its 43-season history. It was swept by the Detroit Red Wings in 1998.
"If you're there and get enough chances, eventually you're going to break through, and I think Washington is a great case of having a good team for a long time, and they've added on some more players and now they're deep as well," Sundin said. "Rightfully so, they're in the [Final], and they have a good chance now to win."
Toronto hasn't won the Stanley Cup since 1967, the last time it appeared in the Cup Final. The Maple Leafs have lost in the first round of the playoffs in back-to-back seasons after qualifying once in the prior 11.
"I think management has done a great job building the team and building an organization the way it's supposed to be done with lots of young players," Sundin said. "You see the Toronto Marlies now in the Calder Cup Finals and on the Maple Leafs roster, the best players are young, 20, 21, 22 years old, and if you keep building like that and adding on, you have a chance to be a great team for a long time."
Sundin was speaking at the delivery of his original Air Canada Centre banner, honoring his retired No. 13, to the Hospital For Sick Children. The Mats Sundin Fellowship, a foundation supporting an elite medical research exchange between the University of Toronto and the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, specializes in research in child development and the first 2,000 days of life. Sundin said he plans to make a $1 million contribution in support of the program.

"It's the right place to be. I think this place affected me, and it really puts everything in perspective when you're in the middle of your career and you think hockey is the most important thing," Sundin said, recalling visits he would make to the hospital as a player in Toronto. "You come here and understand what real courage is and you get a reality check on what the challenges in life that people go through."