Seal the deal already!
posted by Mike Boone at 17h35 EST on Jul 12
Toronto: Nah. After everything that's gone down? New coach. Long-term rebuilding program. Who needs the aggro?
Vancouver: The good news? They're $10 million under the cap.
The bad news? They're still the Vancouver Canucks.
Granted, Sundin would get to play with the Sedin sisters, Mattias Ohlund and Alexander Edler. But Swedish talent notwithstanding, this isn't exactly Detroit-by-the-Sea.
Mike Gillis is a rookie general manager. The coach, Alain Vigneault, was not his hire.That's never a good situation (as we shall see in Pittsburgh).
No matter what Gillis does, Vancouver has as much chance of winning the Stanley Cup in '09 as Adam Sandler has of starring in a remake of Wild Strawberries.
Besides, what kind of jive-ass name is "Canucks", anyway? In New England, the terms is a slur against Franco-Americans. Alleged use of it cost Edmund Muskie a run at the presidency.
Why would any sensible person rather be a Canuck than a Canadien?
This brings us to ...
Montreal: Sundin is the missing piece of a Cup contender puzzle. He knows it, we know it, everyone knows it.
Here are the wingers Sundin could centre: Alex Kovalev, Alex Tanguay, Andrei Kostitsyn, Christopher Higgins, Sergei Kostitsyn, Guillaume Latendresse.
Would he rather play with Pavol Demitra and Kyle Wellwood?
Twenty-one NHL teams had more goals than the Vancouver Canucks last season.
Do you remember how many teams outscored the Canadiens?
None.
Add Sundin to that attack and ...
Fuhgetaboutit!
But don't forget the intangibles. This will be the centennial season of hockey's greatest franchise. What player wouldn't want to be part of that?
Is there a more fitting valediction to Mats Sundin's brilliant career than a season playing for frenzied fans in the league's largest building?
Last but not least: Bob Gainey.
The Canadiens general manager has pursued the courtship with tact and class. Gainey has shown Sundin the love without being a jerk about it.
Canadiens can't pay as much as Vancouver. But as Guy Carbonneau said this week, Mats Sundin has enough money. If he's coming back, it's for rpide, love of the game and, just maybe, the desire to accomplish something he never managed to do in Quebec City and Toronto.
How do you say "no-brainer" in Swedish?
Brothers and sisters, this is a slam-dunk.
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Comments
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Submitted by Habsville on Mon, 07/14/2008 - 12:24.
Who is available if Sundin is not. I see the flyers have 3 centers tied up with 17 Mill. They are over on cap space too. Briere, Richards and Carter make up the 3. Can the Flyers pay a 3rd line center 5 million. I would make a deal for Carter. He is Big 6'3" and young at 23. This would give us another ssolid player and cost us some choices or current picks. It would leave us 2 million is space and we can sign O'Byrne and maybe Breezy too.
Submitted by coutNY on Mon, 07/14/2008 - 16:10.
??????????? They just signed Carter and Richards??????? and last year Breire????? don't hold your breath.
Submitted by solomone12 on Mon, 07/14/2008 - 00:57.
Did it ever occur to people that Sundin might not only want to retire, but actually will retire? Just a thought.
Submitted by nfldanchor on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 23:09.
Sundin would be a great fit for the Habs. I think they will be a contender even without him if the team stays healthy. Laraque should help in that department. lol!
Submitted by HNS on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 22:23.
All said Mike, I hope you're right.
Submitted by CheesePlz on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:14.
If he didn't add latendresse, i woulda believed Montreal had better linemates.
Submitted by tony d on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 10:39.
as it stands right now, the Habs are like an Ikea bookcase... there's one piece missing
you're right Mike....no brainer...he's gotta join our team....oh it would be so sweet to rub it in all those smug Leaf fans' faces
Submitted by Moey on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 10:43.
They'll be rubbing it in our faces, they're obnoxious, have tunnel vision and are shameless. Oh, and another thought, what if Sudin signs with us and ends up having a bad season? Imagine the laff fans, doesn't bear thinking about.
Submitted by Yeats on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 11:38.
You're right about fans. I have a friend who is one as well. (Just one friend.) He has pretty much thrown in the towel on them. The squad they field next season should probably be playing in the "A." While we'll be on the "Drive for 25," they will be on the Quest for Tavares." And, they might even blow that as well.
Submitted by Moey on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:00.
The one thing that really blows my mind is that they are so hateful, they have a seething burning hatred. I enjoy sticking it to them, but it's all in jest, but they're serious about it all. Cherry is a typical example, it's so obvious. They all need to get a life.
Submitted by Yeats on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:08.
Or just pick another team to cheer for.
Submitted by Moey on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:08.
Another thing that amazes me is how can a whole fan base have such low expecations? They still sell the place out. We have a collective meltdown if the Habs loose two in a row. Not to mention 15 years without a cup, we're like cocaine addicts and the cup is our crack...it's been agony.
Submitted by William_Holden_... on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:23.
oh please, we'd sell out if we were in a 40 year drought too. We can't go and critisize Leafs fans for maybe their one good quality which is loyalty. I don't look down on them as much as everyone else does, I think Bruins and Sens fans are way more pathetic.
Submitted by DD on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:35.
Hear, Hear, sens fans are idiots. I had one of them telling me yesterday, that the sens have a winning record against Montreal in the regular season in the last five years. To which I replied, "Who cares, if you don't win the Cup, it means nothing."
They will always be happy with just making the play offs. That's what you get when your owner is really a leaf fan who is still in the closet.
As Carey Price said so eloquently last year "They don't hang regular season 'League Champion' banners in this building.
Submitted by William_Holden_... on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:45.
I grew up in Western Quebec with Sens fans and Leafs fans, and I can tell you I'd take the Leafs fans anyday. You can't even argue with a 'Turds fan, they just get all in a huff and start to cry. A Leafs fan will argue until he's blue in the face even if he knows he's wrong. Leafs fans are more fun. As a 9 year old I was involved in some epic trash talk during the 93 playoffs, and you got to admit it would have been great if they made the finals. I guess deep down inside I wish they would get a little better so the rivalry could get improve.
Bruins fans are obsessed with saying the refs won it for the Habs. Apparently the Bruins never lose, the refs just steal the games from them.
Submitted by DD on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:50.
It's funny how the Broon's fans always blame it on the refs, even though we all know most of the ref's in the NHL come from the toronto area and are staunch leaf supporters. ;)
Submitted by William_Holden_... on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:53.
they're idiots. sorry, but they just annoy me. They're all about the moral victory because they are such losers.
Submitted by DD on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 13:04.
Bill, you don’t mind if I call you Bill, do you? It's just that you seem so familiar. I know I've seen that face before.
My contention is that 75% of the sens fans are ex-leaf fans, who like rats on a scuttled boat, know when it time to sink or swim.
Although I was born in Ottawa and still live here, I would never have even considered switching my allegiance from the bleu, blanc et rouge. I have nothing but disdain for these turncoats.
Submitted by William_Holden_... on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 13:14.
call me anything you want...
I disagree, I knew a bunch of 'Turds fans who were turncoat Habs fans. I used to get a kick out of asking them if they still cheered for the Habs in 1993, and they always said yes. They were always so hateful towards the Habs, and that was always very weird to me because I could never picture myself hating the Habs, but then again I can never picture myself deserting them for another team. I was still young and impressionable when the Turds started to get good but I always thought they were lame. As much as I hate the Leafs, I always thought it was a thing of beauty everytime they beat Ottawa in the playoffs. the entire city would throw a tantrum.
Submitted by DD on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 13:29.
So true. One of my best friends is an ex Habs fan, and he is unbearable now. He hates the Habs, which I find so un-believable. I think he feels threatened.
I'll tell you a little trick I use on him when he gets to mouthy. I tell him he was never a real Habs fan (I usually say he must have been a closet leaf fan) because a real Habs fan would never switch to a mickey mouse franchaise like the sens. It drives him nuts.
It's funny, I cheer for the leafs over the sens now, too. It is the weirdest feeling because I would cheer for a team of ax murdering Russian baby killers before I would cheer for the leafs.
Submitted by William_Holden_... on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 15:05.
haha, its funny and it hits a nerve because its so true. How anyone could switch to the Sens from the Habs (and yeah even from the Leafs, at least they are original 6) is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay beyond me. Everything about the Sens just reeks of Mickey Mouseism, from Bryan Murray's dumb trades to Dean Brown yelling SCRAAAAAMBLE to that annoying little theme song, I can't stand them.
It was funny, on Easter weekend I was visiting my parents (who don't have cable) and we were stuck with the Leafs-Sens on Saturday night and had to settle for updates from the Habs-Bruins games, and it was so funny because we were all cheering for the Leafs, like yelling when they scored...of course I was mostly happy cause the Habs were beginning to run away with first but it was still weird.
Submitted by Yeats on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:38.
On the number of battles fought, Robert E. Lee had a winning record against the Army of the Potomac in the American Civil War. Some just happened to be more important than others.
Submitted by Yeats on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:15.
At least we're on the right track. I think what you want to shoot for is to be like Detroit, the hockey equivalent of the Yankees. You might not win every year, but you are at least in the hunt. The leafs only hope is that they can pull a Pittsburgh or Chicago and really suck long enough to get some quality young talent. I really think the League should let teams carry forward unused cap money in the next CBA. Why should it be use it or lose it? It forces teams to piss away a lot of coin on players just for the hell of it. I like Michael Ryder, but after the season he had last year, the Bruins should be paying him 4MM Japanese Yen a year, not U.S. dollars.
Submitted by dicktracy on Mon, 07/14/2008 - 11:44.
'The hockey equivalent of the yankees' are the Detroit Red Wings?? I was suprised that you wrote this. Although yes the wings have been more consistent the last 10 years or so I think the whole world knows the hockey equivalent of the yankees is the Montreal Canadien.
Submitted by Moey on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:17.
I liked Ryder too, but I don't disagree with what Carbo said, if Julien was nuts enough to give him that kind of money, he should share it with him.
Submitted by DD on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 11:54.
Brian, the leafs will tank this season, finish last overall, then lose out in the lottery and the 5th last finisher will pick Tavares.
I was asking a leaf fan/friend how he could stick with a team, that is so obviously going in the tank, trying to land Tavares and sticking to them this season. He doesn't think the leafs are selling the farm.
These people have to be the stupidest hockey fans in the world.
Submitted by Yeats on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:07.
I saw an old guy with a leafs jacket waiting at the old Cunard/White Star slip on the West Side of Lower Manhattan last week. I was stopped at a light so I asked him what he was doing? He said he was waiting for Titanic to come in. I said, really? He replied, that his brother had told him they might be late.
Submitted by DD on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:10.
Captain Cliff Fletcher of the SS Minnow.
Submitted by Yeats on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:17.
Have you seen the t-shirts they are marketing in TO. They have a picture of Cliff Fletcher winking with the caption, "Fletch Knows Best." It's right up there with one I used to have with the Three Stooges on it: "Moe Knows Hockey."
Submitted by Moey on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:25.
Too bad you don't have it anymore, just add a y to Moe...y'all know how insightful I can be!
Submitted by Yeats on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:33.
I've decided to become a role player in the upcoming season. I'm gonna focus on humour and leave insights, cap comparisons and line combos to others. I think it could really help my +/- stats!
Submitted by DD on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:36.
....and how is this a change?
Submitted by Yeats on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:39.
I said I'm gonna really focus on it. The stuff I have been posting has actually involved very little effort on my part. Just a bunch of empty-netters!
Submitted by DD on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:53.
And all this time, I thought you sat in front of your computer with stacks of highly regarded hockey and 'smart ass quotes' books.
Submitted by The Teacher on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:54.
LMAO!
Laraque will make them Pay the Price!
Submitted by DD on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:23.
Brian, I have a new caption for the back of my maple losers shirts.
On the name part I have 'FINGERED' and $14,000,000 as the number.
Submitted by Lee Hayes on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 14:09.
I might have to add that to my collection!
Go Habs Go
Submitted by Yeats on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:24.
That one will fly off the shelves!
Submitted by Chuck on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:29.
I'll take one!
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Submitted by Moey on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:13.
Probably an improvement on JF Gilligan though.
Submitted by DD on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:16.
I think 'Dick' Peddie would be a much better choice for the Gilligan role.
Submitted by Chuck on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:00.
Up to their armpits in water, some people still din't think that Titanic would actually sink.
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Submitted by The Teacher on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 11:58.
They just are the stupidest fans in the world in any sport, don't just limit them to hockey. The funniest thing is that your scenario of finishing last overall and then losing the lottery will probably happen, thus giving us more fodder for laughs.
"He doesn't think the leafs are selling the farm."....what the hell does he think they are doing? I would really like to hear his analysis. LMAO.
Laraque will make them Pay the Price!
Submitted by Yeats on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:35.
When you are talking about leafs fans, you are allowed to break all grammatical rules. The proper way to describe them is as the "most stupidest!"
Submitted by The Teacher on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:40.
You'll not get an argument from me on that one ;)
Laraque will make them Pay the Price!
Submitted by Yeats on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:01.
The leafs have no farm to sell, not even seeds for that matter. They are just a condemned tenement with rotting iron fire escapes.
Submitted by Wayne on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 10:27.
Though Sundin would surely be a formidable weapon in the Habs arsenal, the last time I heard "Slam-Dunk" and the "search for weapons" in the same sentence... It didn't work out so well. Mike, I take you as a tongue in cheek cynic on most days but a realist nonetheless. I find it very surprising to see you still holding this flame for Mats. While I'd like to see Mats on the Habs squad, I won't lose sleep over it given his present ambivelance.
Submitted by SmartDog on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 10:03.
A snap poll gang:
If you had to choose between A or B, which would you pick?
A. We land Sundin for a year but sign Brisebois for two, and keep Dandenault too.
B. Sundin retires, and Brisbois goes to play for the Sens on a 2 year contract, and we ship Dandy away for a 3rd round pick.
For me, I'd take B. Below I wrote there's more than one way to win a cup... we can do it without Sundin... the point being, it's foolish to focus on only one scenario when that is out of your control - I'm just as concerned with who else is IN the line-up.
~Listen to the smart dog!
Submitted by Yeats on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 11:35.
I would pick "A," but I do see your point. The Habs could do it without Mats. Heck, I thought the planets were aligning last year and that we might pull off a '71, '86 or '93. The things that could bring us much closer next season are that all the young guys now have a full year together under their belt and some playoff experience, not to mention a taste of what it's like to win in Montreal.
Submitted by The Cat on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 11:32.
Personally, I dont think we can do it without Sundin. The leafs last year had a goal differential of -29 but Sundin was +17...We need that kind of two way centreman pretty badly...Plekanec was +15 and Koivu was -4 last year. The addition of a top notch centre like Sundin is essential to get to the next level in my opinion.
Submitted by HabsWin09 on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 08:11.
"Why would any sensible person rather be a Canuck than a Canadien?"
The weather!
Submitted by The Cat on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 09:33.
I too think its a no brainer but arent Ohlund and Sundin best buds?
Submitted by arcosenate on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 09:07.
you have obviously never endured nine straight months of rain in vancouver.
Submitted by The Teacher on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 11:58.
Maybe Mats wants to water his head?
Laraque will make them Pay the Price!
Submitted by HabsWin09 on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 08:06.
"Toronto: Nah. After everything that's gone down? New coach. Long-term rebuilding program. Who needs the aggro?"
BUT
He's spent probably most of his adult life there and also probably has more real friends there than anywhere else in the world.
It's obviously Toronto or Montreal or he's retired. I think Toronto now is the favourite if there was betting?
Submitted by The Cat on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 09:03.
When you look at the Toronto roster, can we say they're in rebuilding mode? 7 players over 30, and 6 players between age 27-30. Plus a few of the under 25 yrs of age players were already part of the core, like Stajan, Steen, White and Coloaicovo. I too think he might stay in Toronto.
Submitted by Yeats on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 11:51.
Yes, they are rebuilding the hockey equivalent of the Acropolis!
Submitted by The Cat on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:10.
lol...I don't understand their logic either, though some of their players are immovable I guess.
Submitted by The Teacher on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:13.
Both on and off the ice! particularly McCabe!
Laraque will make them Pay the Price!
Submitted by DD on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:39.
I betcha they wish they could 'can opener' him and his 5 million a year contract elsewhere.
Submitted by The Teacher on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:45.
Hahaha, I'm guessing the rest of the league doesn't want to open THAT can of worms ;)
Laraque will make them Pay the Price!
Submitted by The Teacher on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 11:54.
Hahaha, nice one.
Laraque will make them Pay the Price!
Submitted by Robert L on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 09:00.
The choice will ultimately decide whether Sundin is a winner or a loser.
I imagine that he often asks himself exactly how he would choose to be remembered.
Submitted by SmartDog on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 09:35.
I wonder if that's part of the reason why he's taking so long. There was a Salming quote in a Swedish article about him going to the Red Wings for his last year... I hard trouble understanding the translation but I think it said he wished he had stayed a Leaf.
The one thing we know about Mats is that he's responsible, loyal, and practical. I think this would make ANY choice hard for him - if he goes to TO, he might be following his heart (despite what's happened it's where his alegiance has been, his friendships, his town), but he's heading to a club that has treated him poorly with no hope of being a contender.
If he comes to Montreal, which seems a more obvious thing to do for hockey reasons, a lot of TO fans are going to turn on him which sucks. Though at this point you have to think he 'feels' himself a free agent without loyalty.... and as they say "a change is as good as a rest"... but there's one more thing about Vancouver in this: it's far away from TO. If he's with Montreal, he'd be facing a building full of Leaf fans at least six times a year. Would this be tough for a loyal guy with a big heart? I would think... tougher than playing out west anyway. And I think it would affect to some degree how he's remembered. If he goes out west it will be less memorable to Leafs fans than if he shows up in their building wearing the bleu-blanc-rouge, and scoring big goals for the visiting team.
~Listen to the smart dog!
Submitted by Connecticut Man1 on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 10:38.
I don't think it matters as much what team he suits up in. I think the biggest thing he is dealing with hockey-wise (he has more important real life stuff going on right now) is the fact that the team he worked his butt off for almost his entire NHL career traded him twice in a matter of months.
Personally? I never thought much of the Toronto rivalry since, in my lifetime, there hasn't been much of one - 1967? Geebuz Cripes, I was too young to remember a really competitive leafs team. From the Alpo years on they always had a few great players on their roster nearly every year but were never as competitive as the best in the league.
During Sundin's entire career the whole Montreal/Toronto rivalry has been a myth propelled by media hype. Up until last season neither team had been good enough to use as a marker to say "If we beat them then we may be contenders!"
All just media hype. You can see the media in the US doing the same thing with the Presidential elections. Obama has been so far ahead McCain from the get go but the media wants, and treats it like, a real thoroughbred horse race. Good for ratings, ya know? Well? If you buy the hype...
Submitted by Chuck on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 12:06.
I'd love to see Sundin "pull a Borque"; that is, to head off somewhere else to win the Cup, then return with it to the city of his previous team like a conquering hero, thus inadvertently rubbing it in the faces of the fans that had supported him for all those years.
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Submitted by Connecticut Man1 on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 10:49.
I bet that even the Toronto centric CBC would follow the Habs a little better in the playoffs (maybe even during the season?) to satisfy the TO fans that would be cheering for him to finally win one.
Submitted by DD on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 11:43.
I hate to play the devil's advocate but does this mean we get more Bob Cole with this CBC coverage? If that's the case, I'll stick with RDS, even though my comprehension of the French language is extremely limited.
Submitted by SmartDog on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 10:54.
Good point. And good point KJD - if he wins the cup he'll be remembered fondly.... I'm not sure what it would be if he doesn't. People like winners.
~Listen to the smart dog!
Submitted by Habs fan in SF on Sun, 07/13/2008 - 05:18.
its 2:15 here in frisco. Did he sign yet? I'm drunk. Too much jameson. I was at a bar here in San Francisco that's a Detroit red wings bar. I flipped off their cup banners when I left. Screw the wings, we've got 24.
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