Notebook: One more Toronto assist left in Sundin's tank?
Mats Sundin doesn't have to get mad at the Toronto Maple Leafs anymore.
He can get even instead.
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| Mark Messier Leadership Award winner Mats Sundin has to decide whether he'll play next season. (Getty Images) |
All the departing team captain has to do is be patient, which by all accounts is one of his most defining characteristics.
That's not to suggest that Sundin will be vindictive, although he would be entitled after enduring months of shabby treatment from the organization. But were he so inclined, Toronto did provide him with that power during what was a good, if unspectacular NHL Draft weekend in Ottawa. The draft featured an overall talent pool widely considered the deepest in years, and played out as expected with forward Steven Stamkos going first overall followed by a run on highly regarded defenseman. But the weekend fell short of its hype because none of the rumored blockbuster trades materialized. So while some prominent players such as Olli Jokinen, Alex Tanguay and Michael Cammalleri did get swapped, Toronto was able to create the biggest stir and it came at the expense of its low-key captain.
The Maple Leafs jumped the starting gun on free agency by making a conditional trade with Montreal. The deal gave the Canadiens exclusive negotiating rights to Sundin before he becomes an unrestricted free agent July 1, and was effectively a final and very public kiss off by Toronto in what has been a long and unpleasant divorce process with the face of its franchise. Sundin, 37, hasn't even decided if he wants to continue playing next season, but he has dropped enough hints to suggest it won't be in Toronto if he does. However, rather than just moving forward and wishing him the best, the Leafs made one last ditch attempt to salvage some scrap for a player who gave them 14 starring seasons.
Montreal, who tried to get Sundin at the trade deadline, will have to compensate the Maple Leafs if they sign him before free agency begins. Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey has already spoken to Sundin and is expected to fly to Sweden for a face-to-face meeting, but if the future Hall of Famer feels like testing a wider market and signs somewhere else in July -- Detroit and the Rangers are thought to be very interested -- Toronto gets nothing in return.
Not even if the Canadiens manage to land Sundin at that point.
Of course, if Sundin is set on Montreal, a team that should contend seriously for the Stanley Cup next season, he could help his former team by getting them something. He just wouldn't owe it to them though, not after the way the Leafs treated him in the weeks leading up to February's trade deadline.
Sundin took less money to re-sign a new contract with Toronto last summer because it included a no-trade clause, and the veteran made it clear throughout what was a miserable season for the team that he did not want to waive it under any circumstances. Still, general manager Cliff Fletcher pushed Sundin hard to change his mind. When the captain refused, he became the target of a whisper campaign that characterized him as selfish for preventing a deal that could help the team's rebuilding process.
At his age Sundin obviously can't be part of Toronto's long-range plans, but the rebuilding effort is really still in the nascent stages and Sundin could still help it along next season. He was easily the Leafs' best player last season with 32 goals and 78 points, so there is plenty of gas left in the tank. And while Toronto isn't likely to be a playoff team whether Sundin is there or not, the kind of leadership he provides would have an important intangible value to what should be a youth-oriented roster.
But an organization that has become a laughing stock for its management style in recent years decided to deprive itself of that.
Sundin shouldn't be mad. He should be glad to be out of there.
Icings
- "Look we really like you, but Malkin's more important to us." That's not exactly what the Pittsburgh Penguins told Marian Hossa over the weekend when they broke contract talks to let him test free agency, but that was the essence of the message. Pittsburgh paid a lot for Hossa at the deadline and he paid big dividends in the playoffs, but with the potential of Evgeni Malkin getting poached by an upstart Euro league after next season, the Penguins had to set priorities. They are close to working out an extension with Malkin for about $8.5 million a season, a figure that Hossa will likely approach on the open market and Pittsburgh won't be able to fit him under its cap. Pittsburgh has some faint hope that Hossa will ultimately see the value of taking a few dollars less to be with a strong team, but they shouldn't bet on it.
- Alex Tanguay had some issues with Calgary coach Mike Keenan last season, but the biggest reason the Flames sent him to Montreal for a first round draft pick was money. Calgary will replace some of Tanguay's offense with Mike Cammalleri, who came from Los Angeles in another deal, but more important, the Flames will save $1.9 million in cap space. That means something since rich new deals for Jarome Iginla, Robyn Regehr, Miikka Kiprusoff, Dion Phaneuf and Daymond Langkow all kick in next season.
- Atlanta Thrashers GM Don Waddell admitted the success of Washington and Philadelphia last season with coaches promoted from their top farm teams influenced his thinking before he hired John Anderson as his new coach last week. And Anderson, who won an AHL title with Chicago a few days earlier, said he figured as much." For me to be with the Atlanta organization for six years has been a real big help getting this job," said Anderson, who has coached for 13 seasons and won five championships in the minors while waiting for a shot at the NHL. "I do know most of the players and the organization and I've spent all training camps with them, so at least I'm coming in with a good grasp."
- Things should be very busy around Tampa Bay in the coming days now that new ownership group headed by Oren Koules and Len Barrie is fully in charge. The group, approved by the board of governors last week and was introduced to Lightning fans Monday, is expected to work out a lifetime type deal with Vincent Lecavalier very soon. The Lightning should announce the hiring of Barry Melrose as their new coach this week and they'll be bringing last week's first-overall draft choice Stephen Stamkos down for a visit as well.
- The Lightning, by the way, produced the feel good moment of the draft when they took American David Carle in the seventh round. The younger brother of San Jose's Matt Carle, David was rated a second to third round pick by scouts, but informed teams at the draft he was withdrawing his name because of a heart condition that was recently discovered. Koules said the team felt Carle should get to say he was actually drafted by an NHL team. A nice move.
- Life could be worse for Chris Mason, who had the job as Nashville's starting goalie to lose last season. He did, finding himself as the backup to Dan Ellis as the playoffs rolled around and then getting dumped at the draft to the St. Louis Blues for a fourth round pick. Mason is ticketed to be Manny Legace's reliever with the Blues, but at $3 million, he'll earn $750,000 more than the starter. He gets a good seat at each game too.
They said it
"We'd like to see the current 30 teams do well. But with a couple franchises, if they have issues and problems for three or four years in a row, then I think the league has to give serious consideration whether or not these franchises are in the proper locations or whether they ought to be moved to more hockey-friendly areas."
-- NHLPA chief Paul Kelly to the Boston Globe.
