Swedish ice hockey star Sundin announces retirement

Ice hockey superstar Mats Sundin, an 18-year National Hockey League veteran centre who won Olympic gold with his native Sweden but never a Stanley Cup, on Wednesday announced his retirement.

The decision to quit "has matured over the summer and autumn", 38-year-old Sundin said, quoted by Swedish news agency TT.

Sundin, who helped Sweden capture 2006 Winter Olympic gold at Turin, began his NHL career with the Quebec Nordiques in 1991 before spending 13 seasons with Toronto, becoming the top scorer in the Maple Leafs' history with 420 goals and 567 assists and serving as captain for a decade.

In late 2008 he signed with the Vancouver Canucks.

"I've begun to feel that it's quite nice to sit on the sidelines and not play a match every day, and that's why I feel this is the right decision. My body isn't up to the every day wear-and-tear of the NHL anymore," he said.

"A Stanley Cup ring would've been nice to have but in all honesty I've experienced and won so much since I landed in Quebec as a 19-year-old. It feels like I've experienced so much more than I could ever have imagined," he said.

Sundin, who married his longtime girlfriend in August, said he hadn't yet decided what he would do in the future but he would be moving back to Sweden.