PokerWorks

Mats Sundin may never play hockey again. But he seems to have a greater grip on his future than it seems.

At least when it comes to his poker career.

The future Hall-of-Famer recently joined PokerStars' celebrity roster to join other athletes turned poker players such as Boris Becker and Orel Hershiser, who recently made a name for himself at NBC's Heads-Up Poker Challenge.

Sundin, 37 and longtime captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, plans to play online - look for him as "MatsSundin" - and live on PokerStars' global tour circuit, including the European Poker Tour, which starts its fifth season next week.

Sundin holds many records in the NHL, including the first Swedish player to score 500 goals and the first Maple Leaf to score 400 goals. He played in three Winter Olympics and five World Championships.

Watch out if he's at your final table, too, because he knows how to finish a match: He has the most overtime goals in history.

Sundin played cards since his early days in the NHL and is looking forward to the new challenge.

"Learning from and playing against some of the best poker players in the world won’t be easy, " he said in a press release, "but I believe the fighting spirit I’ve developed as a hockey pro will really help me at the tables.”

Sundin also plans to donate his poker profits to various charities.

Players on PokerStars will be able to challenge Mats online in coming months.  The star’s first live poker appearance will be at the PokerStars' European Poker Tour in Barcelona, starting Sept. 10.