Mats Sundin Signs

[kosydar 0]

Who is saying he won't retire a Leaf? He wants to play for a contender right now. Its smart to believe that the Leafs aren't that this year. They could be before he decides to retire.

[troy 12]

Do Leafs' fans harbor any ill-will towards Sundin? If he accepted a deadline deal last year, then there would have been the potential for Mats to return to a stronger Leafs' team this year, and presumably next, especially if he's contemplating a contract after this one.

[kosydar 0]

Its frustrating to think about what could have been, but I don't blame him any more than I do Kubina, Kaberle, Tucker and McCabe. I respect that he didn't want to be a rental, and he had every right to exercise his NTC. It certainly was a very frustrating situation as a fan, but I'm glad that I'll never see him in a Habs uniform.

[TheBert 0]

So, I'm a little confused on the numbers. Had he have signed this exact deal at the beginning of the year, it would be worth around 7 mil. And the leafs also threw him a 7 mil deal? Please correct me if I'm wrong, but that seems to contradict just about everything he stood for for his decade of captaincy in T.O.

If he signed in the off-season, the Canucks would have given him $20 million a year for 2 years.

The actual contract as of Thursday is that he accepted a $8.5 million contract, which is pro-rated to a cap hit of around ~$5.6 million.

[MLSman 22]

I am happy for the Nucks... I think he will fit into the lineup well. The Rangers would have been both a disruption and distraction. His mere presence in the lineup makes the West a lot more interesting. It was starting to look like a two team show with Detroit and San Jose...but with the Chicago rebuild WAY ahead of schedule and now the Canucks getting stringer offensively, the West seems a lot more competitive. I guess now the next thread will be: Where is Forsberg going to wind up?

[raygunpk 0]

Forsberg would go to the Avs no doubt. The question is where is Shanahan going to end up?

[MLSman 22]

The question is where is Shanahan going to end up?

On the cover of AARP? :P

[kosydar 0]

Anyone have an idea when his first game will be? I think he'll be good with Bernier, just look at what Sundin did to Antropov and Ponikarovsky.

[RadioGaGa 162]

Anyone have an idea when his first game will be? I think he'll be good with Bernier, just look at what Sundin did to Antropov and Ponikarovsky.

TSN was speculating that a Canucks/Oilers game in early Jan could be it. He was supposed to join the team yesterday...was there a PC or anything?

[HattrickSwayze 3]

I didn't find too much about when he's expected to join, but I did hear that his plane was supposedly delayed getting to Vancouver. At first they were saying the 27th, then the 29th or whenever, but I think now it's more early January.

[RadioGaGa 162]

He is on the official roster now (Scratched tonight - obv.)

[HattrickSwayze 3]

Watching the 'Nucks game now, and they said he'll practice on Tuesday with the team. They'll try and work him into a game sometime after that, obviously.

[RadioGaGa 162]

Watching the 'Nucks game now, and they said he'll practice on Tuesday with the team. They'll try and work him into a game sometime after that, obviously.

Jan 7 in Edm makes sense....first game on the road...less pressure from fans for him to play huge minutes. 15-17 on night 1...then they can go 18-20+ for his first home game.

[chippa13 1844]

The guy played for years in Toronto. I don't think pressure will be an issue.

[k13 0]

any word where he's gonna fit in? Forming the s-din line or anchoring the second unit?

[HattrickSwayze 3]

Well they were saying that one of the big benefits of having Sundin is taking some of the pressure off of the Sedin's. I think the best way to do that is to put them on the same line together, but then you've kind of got all your ducks in one basket with your main line. Since Sundin and H.Sedin are both centers, I'm thinking maybe they'll put Sundin on the second line first and see how he does. I suppose he can still take attention away from the Sedins if teams are trying to match their top defensive pair with the Sundin-line. I dono, it will be interesting to see.

[jbyun04 7]

Sundin arrives today but isn't talking to media or fans until tomorrow. I think his first skate is today, he's gonna be practicing tomorrow for sure though. Vigneault said that he's leaving the choice to Sundin on whether or not he wants to join the team on the 2 game road trip to Nashville and Atlanta. His first game will probably be on the 4th vs the Stars if he doesn't go on the trip.

[RadioGaGa 162]

The guy played for years in Toronto. I don't think pressure will be an issue.

I mean pressure on the team to showcase the saviour...I know Mats can play under pressure...but if his first game is at hme, and he only gets 12-14 minutes....people will be all over Alain.

[k13 0]

The guy played for years in Toronto. I don't think pressure will be an issue.

I mean pressure on the team to showcase the saviour...I know Mats can play under pressure...but if his first game is at hme, and he only gets 12-14 minutes....people will be all over Alain.

More likely to get around 16 I'd think, which isn't unreasonable, considering he never got over 20 here in Toronto, except for last season.

[Chadd 916]

The guy played for years in Toronto. I don't think pressure will be an issue.

I mean pressure on the team to showcase the saviour...I know Mats can play under pressure...but if his first game is at hme, and he only gets 12-14 minutes....people will be all over Alain.

More likely to get around 16 I'd think, which isn't unreasonable, considering he never got over 20 here in Toronto, except for last season.

Part of that was Quinn running four lines almost all the time. That team would have gone a lot farther with a shorter bench more often.

[HattrickSwayze 3]

First pics of Sundin at practice. Look at all the cameras there, lol.

[RadioGaGa 162]

They should've put him on the "Red" line or the "Yellow" line for this first practice....honestly...in Blue...that looks too much like how we've seen him for the last 14 years.

[kosydar 0]

It didn't seem right seeing him in that uni tonight. At least the Canucks are a team that I can like.

[HattrickSwayze 3]

Sundin must not be in very good shape right now. I don't think he took a shift longer than 30 seconds tonight. I guess it's probably better to ease back into it though, than rush it and get hurt. He had one good scoring chance, but fanned on the shot a little. It's hard to say whether he looked good or not tonight, because I never saw him play in Toronto.

[raygunpk 0]

You can tell he's rusty, but he had some good chemistry with Wellwood.