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Canada • 82 Years Old • Male
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Sundin: Leafs or Later?!

Posted 11:20 AM ET | Comments 16
Its been 19 days since the the wave of blue and white faithful sat on edge waiting to see if Mats Sundin would sign on the dotted line with the Habs. Perhaps the Canucks would lure him with that huge 20 Mil. deal they waived.. wait, maybe he's gone to retirement.. Noone counted Sundin as a Leaf for the 08-09 schedule. Noone thought he'd ever come back to the lowly bottom of the barrel Leafs when he could win elsewhere. Well I may be eating my hat come next month but swayed by a building rumour Im going to say it, Welcome back Mats. The word is Sundin would rather retire then come back to play with a rival team or any other team for that matter, then the Toronto Maple Leafs. The problem? MLSE. You heard it hear folks. I may be a tad biased behind my blue tinted shades but if you ask me Mats is waiting so long because he just doesnt know if he can bring himself to play for Peddie and his band of carnival thieves. Fletcher is being drug though the mud for trying to get Mats to waive his no trade at the deadline but what else was the man to do? That's your number one asset on a rebuilding team that has missed the post season 3 straight seasons in a town that lives and breaths by the drop of the puck! Sundin's decision isnt made any easier by the loyalty he feels to the city, the fans and the logo on the front of the sweater but upper managment is deffinately a reason for him to look down the 401 for an apartment close to the Bell Centre.

What it comes down to is that it just may break the swedes heart to suit up for another team. And what is your 7,8 or 10 million dollar star without heart. Mats knows this more then anyone.. yah maybe June would come and he'd be sipping from the cup but would he be thinking, "wow, this is the best feeling of my career, man I wish it was in a Leaf jersey in front of the ACC fans"..... I know I know, you're all laughing, slapping knees and calling me nuts, I can hear it now.. livin on a prayer, yah yah... truth be told there is no gaurantee that he'll win with the Habs, the Rangers or even the defending Red Wings. The Canucks certainly arent in a much better possition then Toronto is. Why would he want to sign there to help them rebuild their mangled team when he can help continue the build on his own club where his heart is and he has hung his skates for so long. MLSE is why. Too bad Don Cherry or Wayne Gretzky or any of the Toronto Richie Riches couldn't sweep in and buy this team carrying it and its faithful to places some of us fans have never seen. I was born in 1977 into a life of Leaf following.. its been a painful following at times people.. and you know this! Point is, at the end of the day Mats Sundin's heart lies within the confines of the Air Canada Centre.. whats a super star without his heart. Sundin, 1 yr 7 million with a no movement.. you Heard It Here!

-Willie Wilts.
Filed Under:   Leafs   Sundin   Habs   Canucks   Fletcher   red Wings  
July 19, 2008 12:08 PM ET | Delete
Interesting comments. But you lose a lot of your credibility when you show your (pretty much) total ignorance of the Canucks. I could school you on that, but I won't bother.
July 19, 2008 12:40 PM ET | Delete
Actually I would gladly welcome the "schooling" .. I love nothing more then to have a good honest debate over teams, prospects and whatever else we can argue about :) if you look at some of my posts from the past I tend to rub some teams the wrong way.. hehe.. nothing like a good spirited hockey argument.. we need something to get us thru the summer.. lord knows we here in Toronto havent seen any hockey past mid april in a while...as far as the canucks, im not totally ignorant, in saying that i think of all the teams in the running for Mats they are the least talented with the least chance of winning (by no means do i mean to suggest the leafs even have a remote chance of winning just that they have the heart card to play)... fact of the matter is, if i was a canuck fan id be praying Mats signs as it would give them that #1 star theyve been missing perhaps since Bure or maybe Burtuzzi's glory days.. Naslund was a flash in the pan at most as unfortunate as that is cuz i love that guy. Sundin between the Sedins wont happen.. i dont know why people keep suggesting it because one of them is a center. although it is probably their best potential line combination. outside of that what do they have? if Mats were to sign anywhere other then TO the quest of a cup would be why... considering talent and Sundin's preference to play in Canada that puts the Habs as a front runner in my oppinon. dont you think? still i say hes a Leaf within the next couple weeks.
July 19, 2008 2:01 PM ET | Delete
With Sundin the Canucks would have two good top 6 lines, they already have two good bottom six lines. They also have a very solid defence and one of the best goalies in the game. To call them a "mangled" team is just ignorant.
July 19, 2008 2:37 PM ET | Delete
King Clancy's Ghost has already spoken and told me that Mats will return to Toronto in November. He may be dead, but I believe the King.
July 19, 2008 5:08 PM ET | Delete
uh, Aliboy, I live in Vancouver and if you think that the Canucks are in a good position, you're incredibly naive. The Canucks are going to be awful this year. Who is on their potent top two lines?? They were horrible last year and are going to be even worse this year.
July 19, 2008 5:43 PM ET | Delete
realistic i would have to respectfully disagree with your statements towards aliboy , i think the canucks will do better then last year . As we all bore witness to their offensive strruggle whcih were also not just offence but in part due to their injuries which contributed to it all . but this off-season they may have lost naslund ( who just needed a fresh start ) but added demitra , bernier ( loads of upside) , wellwood (also looking for a rebound season) to go with the sedins and hopefully shannon who wil most likely have a spot . Not to mention Jason krogg to who should be a sturdy 2nd liner . Add that to their now healthy and offensive minded D-corps and they will do much better
July 19, 2008 5:44 PM ET | Delete
But also nice article willie wilts i like the controversy you spark with them , makes for something interesting to talk about , keep it up
July 19, 2008 6:20 PM ET | Delete
Bernier is going to be great with the Sedins, he's going to think that he's gone to hockey heaven. The key is the second top six line which will be in great shape if we sign Sundin. If not, then Gillis will pull off something else as there are a number of teams in deep cap trouble. We had a tough time last year because Nonis did nothing last summer to shore up the offense. He didn't have much cap space but should have signed Anson Carter or Gelinas just to get us through to this summer, and he should have picked Recchi up off of waivers when he had the chance. This year we will have a much more balanced team and anyone who thinks we will be awful is completely out of touch, regardless of where they live.
July 19, 2008 6:28 PM ET | Delete
Sundin will soon be a Canuck.http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=672
July 19, 2008 7:36 PM ET | Delete
Any canuck fan who thinks that mats sundin is going to be a canuck your dreaming when we look back on this a few months from now you will see the post made by this man is right. He will be a leaf or leave. Mats Sundin isnt all about the money he has stated that. Keep dreaming canuck fans cause thats the only place your going to see sundin in a canuck jersey...In your dreams.
July 19, 2008 11:14 PM ET | Delete
20 million dollars.
July 20, 2008 12:12 AM ET | Delete
20 million dollars ????? So what, as the sajus said he isnt about the money. I agree with Willie and every other sensible Buds fan that if # 13 laces them up this coming year it will be wearing the maple leaf on his chest........
July 20, 2008 12:16 AM ET | Delete
And as far as the rebuilding goes, who better to have as your Captain, When he decides to come back I will welcome him back with open arms NO MATTER what the cost......
July 20, 2008 12:45 AM ET | Delete
Well, you guys seem pretty confident. I'll keep this all in mind when and if he signs somewhere...
July 20, 2008 10:59 PM ET | Delete
we need sundin in toronto...if not it's a group of guys without a leader...
July 21, 2008 8:43 AM ET | Delete
Everyone can agree Mats is a very honest hockey player. Saying that, we have all heard Mats repeatedly say that he will not lace up for another team, that he will only play in Toronto for the Leaf fans and that is where he will retire. Mats stated last deadline day that he was in serious discussion with one Borje Salming and that Borje's biggest regret was that he didn't retire in Toronto, Mats said he will not make that same mistake. If you believe and can agree that Mats is an honest man and true to his word, I don't see the reason to discuss possibilities of him moving elsewhere should he decide to come back and play, he himself has made it very clear Toronto is where he belongs.
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