KGB: The Sundin Saga
Posted 8:14 PM ET | Comments 1
Much like Mats Sundin I have sat around all summer not doing much. However, it's time for me to start training camp. I've been working on colourful metaphors.
Here's my take on the Sundin situation. Hey, I might as well have one too. The 2007-08 season ended and Sundin said he's going to take awhile to make a decision about playing. July 1st came and he received a big offer from the Canucks. Shortly thereafter he released a statement saying, thanks for the offers, not close to making a decision. He still hasn't made up his mind. Isn't all this much ao about nothing? He hasn't strung any teams along, he hasn't changed his mind since April. So what's the big deal? Slow news days I guess.
As far as the "where" he goes, if Sundin decides to play. I just find it remarkable that the Rangers are mentioned. They have $600,000 in cap space, they have only 6 d-men signed, might want to get another one and oh yeah they have two, $7million centre-men already in Drury and Gomez. Oh but wait, they can trade Gomez to Vancouver or Montreal or to the Boston Pops. Does trading Gomez who is 9 years younger then Sundin and has 6 years left on his contract, make any sense whatsoever to sign a 37 year old for one year? No it doesn't, write that down.
The day the Rangers trade Gomez and sign Sundin, I'll eat the mushrooms off my front lawn.
Instead of worrying about what Sundin is going to do, go to the movies and see Tropic Thunder. I give it a hat-trick and two assists, that's pretty good.
On This Date
It was 57 years ago this week that Bill Barilko died. Here's a little story I wrote on that.
June 7, 1962, the body of Bill Barilko is found 45 miles north of Cochrane, Ontario. Barilko had been on a fishing trip with Dr. Henry Hudson a Timmins dentist on James Bay. They were set to return on August 26th, 1951 but they disappeared on their way back to Timmins. They were traveling in a Fairchild 24 pontoon plane, speculation is that the plane was weighed down by too many fish that the men caught on their trip. The plane was found in dense bush, partially submerged in water. The skeletal remains of both men were found strapped to their seats, and they were partly burned, which made investigators believe that they died on impact. The search for Barilko in 1951 was the most costly air search in Canadian history at a price tag of $385,000. Barilko's plane was found by a helicopter pilot named Gary Fields who was on a timber cruising patrol. Fields noticed the wing of the plane sticking out of the bush. Unfortunately Fields took no location readings so the exact location was not known. He returned to his base and contacted the Department of Lands and Forests and they found the plane again. The search party landed their plane about 1.5 miles away from the wreckage and they walked through the knee deep swamp to the wreckage. There had been a $10,000 reward posted by the Maple Leafs in 1951 for the discovery of Barilko dead or alive, but that expired at the end of the year so Gary Fields was not able to collect. Two years before Barilko was found his family erected a tombstone for him in a Timmins cemetery where he was buried a little over a week after he was found.
Trivia
Who is the all-time leading point tallier born in Quebec?
Offside
I find it truly amazing the amount of people that knock on your door trying to sell stuff or sign you up for something these days. Everything from hot water tanks, to locked in hydro rates, natural gas rates, and the Red Cross. They all seem to have gone to the same school of scam. "Just go and get your credit card number or a void cheque and we'll get you signed up." Oh GOODIE. I gave at the office. I give these people credit (or no I didn't). How many people give out their credit card numbers and bank acct info to someone knocking on their door? That my friends is offside. Leave me a brochure, I'll look it over, longer then the 10 seconds you give at the door and I'll get back to you.
Trivia Answer
Marcel Dionne
Gibby
[email][email protected][/email]
Here's my take on the Sundin situation. Hey, I might as well have one too. The 2007-08 season ended and Sundin said he's going to take awhile to make a decision about playing. July 1st came and he received a big offer from the Canucks. Shortly thereafter he released a statement saying, thanks for the offers, not close to making a decision. He still hasn't made up his mind. Isn't all this much ao about nothing? He hasn't strung any teams along, he hasn't changed his mind since April. So what's the big deal? Slow news days I guess.
As far as the "where" he goes, if Sundin decides to play. I just find it remarkable that the Rangers are mentioned. They have $600,000 in cap space, they have only 6 d-men signed, might want to get another one and oh yeah they have two, $7million centre-men already in Drury and Gomez. Oh but wait, they can trade Gomez to Vancouver or Montreal or to the Boston Pops. Does trading Gomez who is 9 years younger then Sundin and has 6 years left on his contract, make any sense whatsoever to sign a 37 year old for one year? No it doesn't, write that down.
The day the Rangers trade Gomez and sign Sundin, I'll eat the mushrooms off my front lawn.
Instead of worrying about what Sundin is going to do, go to the movies and see Tropic Thunder. I give it a hat-trick and two assists, that's pretty good.
On This Date
It was 57 years ago this week that Bill Barilko died. Here's a little story I wrote on that.
June 7, 1962, the body of Bill Barilko is found 45 miles north of Cochrane, Ontario. Barilko had been on a fishing trip with Dr. Henry Hudson a Timmins dentist on James Bay. They were set to return on August 26th, 1951 but they disappeared on their way back to Timmins. They were traveling in a Fairchild 24 pontoon plane, speculation is that the plane was weighed down by too many fish that the men caught on their trip. The plane was found in dense bush, partially submerged in water. The skeletal remains of both men were found strapped to their seats, and they were partly burned, which made investigators believe that they died on impact. The search for Barilko in 1951 was the most costly air search in Canadian history at a price tag of $385,000. Barilko's plane was found by a helicopter pilot named Gary Fields who was on a timber cruising patrol. Fields noticed the wing of the plane sticking out of the bush. Unfortunately Fields took no location readings so the exact location was not known. He returned to his base and contacted the Department of Lands and Forests and they found the plane again. The search party landed their plane about 1.5 miles away from the wreckage and they walked through the knee deep swamp to the wreckage. There had been a $10,000 reward posted by the Maple Leafs in 1951 for the discovery of Barilko dead or alive, but that expired at the end of the year so Gary Fields was not able to collect. Two years before Barilko was found his family erected a tombstone for him in a Timmins cemetery where he was buried a little over a week after he was found.
Trivia
Who is the all-time leading point tallier born in Quebec?
Offside
I find it truly amazing the amount of people that knock on your door trying to sell stuff or sign you up for something these days. Everything from hot water tanks, to locked in hydro rates, natural gas rates, and the Red Cross. They all seem to have gone to the same school of scam. "Just go and get your credit card number or a void cheque and we'll get you signed up." Oh GOODIE. I gave at the office. I give these people credit (or no I didn't). How many people give out their credit card numbers and bank acct info to someone knocking on their door? That my friends is offside. Leave me a brochure, I'll look it over, longer then the 10 seconds you give at the door and I'll get back to you.
Trivia Answer
Marcel Dionne
Gibby
[email][email protected][/email]
I'm probably not the only guy to think this but I haven't seen it posted elsewhere so in response to the Sundin situation...I think Gillis' offer to Mats was a false leader in an attempt to get other teams to go after him with higher $$$$. And, I think it's working. It gave Sundin leverage and forces interested teams to dump players to match, or come close to matching Vancouver's offer. This could suddenly make a few very interesting names available and teams with readily available cap space can start kiting offers while other teams can only scrammble. I don't think Gillis wants Sundin to be a member of the Canucks and interest surrounding the size of the offer distracted everything away from what may be going on behind the scenes. Making deals is way easier when the spotlight is somehwere else. All Gillis has to do is mention Sundin's name in the press every couple of weeks and we all bite. Don't know if that's what is going on, but it would have been the way I played it...8)