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While many of his teammates were practising at the Maple Leafs' Lakeshore training facility yesterday, captain Mats Sundin was relaxing with new girlfriend Josephine Johansson on the outdoor patio of a Stockholm cafe.
Sundin, 36, tries to keep his personal life private but, as captain of Sweden's Olympic hockey team, he's the focus of as much interest in Stockholm as he is in Toronto. When Sundin and Johansson were seen embracing on Swedish TV at a sports event recently, it became front-page news.
"Sudden's new love interest" is the headline on the web front page of today's sports section of the Stockholm newspaper Expressen. "Sudden" is Sundin's nickname in Sweden.
The newspaper says Sundin's Swedish representative Claes Elefalk confirmed the relationship but would not provide further details.
Johansson, 25, is from the small town of Nora in central Sweden but now lives in Stockholm, Expressen said.
The two vacationed together in Spain and France after the end of the Leafs' 2006-07 season, the paper said.
Yesterday, the couple sipped drinks while Sundin chatted on his cellphone at the cafe in uptown Stockholm.
Later, photographer Stefan Soderstrom said, Johansson took her small, white dog for a walk. Sundin went to get his car and picked up Johansson and the dog after their walk.
Sundin's relationship with longtime girlfriend Tina Fagerstrom ended during the 2004-05 NHL season lockout. Johansson appears to be his first long-term relationship since then.
But will she come to Toronto when Sundin returns for the start of official training camp Sept. 13?
Stay tuned.
