Mats Sundin

Robert Lang: He and Alex Kovalev made beautiful music together in Pittsburgh in 2000-01.
Bill Smith, NHLI via Getty Images

DAVE STUBBS
The Gazette

The Canadiens’ 11-week, casually serious courtship of free agent Mats Sundin last night reached the dead end most expected it would when the club announced the acquisition of centreman Robert Lang of the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Canadiens also announced the re-signing of veteran defenceman Patrice Brisebois to a one-year deal.

Montreal sends a second-round, 2010 draft pick to Chicago in exchange for Lang, 37, that selection acquired in July from the Toronto Maple Leafs with defence prospect Greg Pateryn for forward Mikhail Grabovski.

Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey said on a conference call that Sundin, an unrestricted free agent, no longer is on the team’s radar.

The deal for Lang, who will earn $4 million in 2008-09, moves along the strategy the team had developed as it waited for Sundin to make some kind of decision on his NHL future, assuming the fence-sitting Swede chooses to have one at all.

“It’s not been a rollercoaster at all,” Gainey said of the team’s pursuit of Sundin, a view probably not shared by those fans who have figured the former Maple Leafs captain was a lock to come here, given the Canadiens’ exclusive, if brief, negotiating rights for him secured in June and subsequent simmering discussions.

Are the Tampa Bay Lightning chasing Mats Sundin?

Tim Wharnsby, writing in the Globe and Mail, adds another plot twist to the soap opera .... which has even Montreal dogs yawning (sorry .... can't resist Boston terrier pics).

Sundin's agent, J.P. Barry, said Bob Gainey used his two hours with the player on Saturday to make "an excellent case for why Mats should play in Montreal."

"(Gainey) He also explained that they likely don't have the same latitude to wait too long and would like an answer quite soon, as they have other plans and options in the works.” 

• Viggo Mortensen loves the Canadiens.

• On Robert L.'s site, the story of how Doug Jarvis became a Canadien.

• NHLers talk about their off-season training. 

• A federal judge has rejected a plea bargain for  Henry Samueli in the Ducks' owner's stock fraud case.

• Ken Campbell of The Hockey News on the importance of a new transfer agreement. 

Bob Gainey was in Newfoundland yesterday, hanging with Great Big Sea, meeting fans and talking about his meeeting with Mats Sundin.

Proud Newfoundlander and Habs Inside/Out regular poster was there. J.T. has a full report on her blog, http://www.habsloyalist.blogspot.com/

Gainey said Sundin is physically ready. But the big Swedenot sure he still has the passion to play hockey at a high level.

"He's interested," Gainey said. "I told him to make a decision. I said, if you feel like you want to retire, then retire. But if you're not sure, you should play and the emotion will come." 

Later in the session, a fan asked "But do you think he'll come to Montreal?"
The half-smile pushing the outer limits of a real grin this time, Gainey replied, "He didn't say no."

•  •  •

François Gagnon whining because he got scooped by J.T.

•  •  • 

How quickly it can all turn to crap in pro sports:

Tom Brady 

Wouldn't you like to be a fly on the wall when Bob Gainey meets Mats Sundin this weekend?

Suggested dialogue:

Bob: Mats, how would you like to centre Alex Kovalev and Alex Tanguay on a Stanley Cup contender as the greatest franchise in the history of hockey celebrates 100 years? 

Mats: Ummmmm, I'll have to think about it. Let me get back to you, Bob.

Fly: Bzzzzzzt! What is it with this guy? Is there a dung heap near here where I can go to puke? 

• Taking to David Shoalts of the Globe and Mail, Matt Stajan defends Sundin against criticism by new Leafs' coach Ron Wilson. 

"Mats has been a great leader from my first game on," Stajan said. "I don't think our dressing room was ever a problem.
"I don't think you can judge how we did as a team, not making the playoffs, just on leadership."

• The Toronto Star's Rosie DiManno on Sundin's Hamlet act. 

• At nhl.com, Dan Rosen rates the Eastern Conference's Top 5 goaltenders. Carey Price is not on the list.

Mats Sundin tells the National Post he hasn't quite made up his mind about this season.

For PokerStars.com.

“I have always enjoyed playing poker and partnering with PokerStars gives me the opportunity to challenge myself and explore the full potential of my game," Sundin says. "I believe the fighting spirit I’ve developed as a hockey pro will really help me at the tables." 

Maybe Bob Gainey should try to sign Daniel Negreanu.

Hey Mats, how about a game of Texas Hold This. 

• Canadiens are thinking about playing a game at Montreal's Olympic Stadium in December, 2009, Dave Stubbs writes.

• In the Journal de Montréal, Pierre Durocher looks at Bob Gainey's Plan B and floats the name of Robert Lang. 

• Bruins acquire Stéphane Yelle. 

• The CBC submissions in its contest to find a new HNIC theme song. What rhymes with "Toronto"?

• Junior coaching legend Brian Kilrea says this will be his last season.

• Sales of Sundin jerseys still brisk in Toronto. 

• Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune talks to Marian Gaborik.

• Allan Muir of Sports Illustrated looks at the Northeast Division and wonders about Carey Price.

From Canwest News:

Mats Sundin appears no closer to making a decision about his future than he was four months ago.
Despite reports that Sundin may announce this week whether he’ll return to the National Hockey League for an 18th season, the unrestricted free agent centre told a Toronto radio station on Tuesday that he has yet to make up his mind.
“I’m still not at the point were I’m ready to make a decision about my future career as an NHL player,” Sundin told Toronto’s AM 640 radio from Sweden on Tuesday.

Finally announcing that he's decided to pursure his career with the Valhalla Valkyrie, a well-over-his-playing-weight Mats Sundin waddles up to the mic and offers a final aria to his Montreal fans:

(with apologies to Don Henley)

Nobody on the road,
nobody on the beach.
I feel it in the air,
the summer's out of reach

and i can tell you
my love for you was all a con
And now the puck teaser of summer is gone ...

Well, it was fun while it lasted.

And the Mats Sundin story gave Canadiens fans something to talk about through the dog days of summer.

Yogi Berra said it ain't over till it's over, but he was a baseball guy.

When a hockey man like Ol' Velcro Lips says he's "not optimistic" about signing Sundin – as Bob Gainey did yesterday at Guy Carbonneau's golf tournament – you know that the Rubenesque soprano is clearing her throat and approaching the microphone.

Which brings us to Plan B. The Canadiens still need a centre – preferably a big lug who can win faceoffs.

Jean Béliveau is too old to come out of retirement, so any suggestions? 

Eric Engels at Hockeybuzz likes Michael Nylander as a possible acquisition. 

A terrific analysis by Daniel Tolensky.

And the new kid on the blog, freelance journalist Arpon Basu, has launched his Daily Hab-it by making a strong case for Robert Lang (that's him in the picture, channeling Colin Farrell.) 

More later. 

It's a cool, sunny morning in Montreal, after a stinking hot, humid Sunday.

Crispness in the air portends a change of seasons – and we all know what that means:

Hockey. Soon.

A fearless prediction: Mats Sundin is going to make his decision this week.

The basis for this? An impromptu channeling of Tony in West Side Story:

Could be!
Who knows?
There's something due any day;
I will know right away,
Soon as it shows.
It may come cannonballing down through the sky,
Gleam in its eye,
Bright as a rose!

Who knows?
It's only just out of reach,
Down the block, on a beach,
Under a tree.
I got a feeling there's a miracle due,
Gonna come true,
Coming to me!

The question: Is Sundin coming to the Bell Centre or an arena closer to NYC's west side? 

Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbaeva clears 5.05 metres, a world record. Upon seeing this, NHL president Gary Bettman said, "Maybe our nets should be this size." Valery Heche/AFP/Getty Images

BEIJING – The Olympic Games are pretty much as far away from the National Hockey League as you can get, though the American sprinters have largely the same attitude issues as many NHL players.

In three weeks here, however, I have seen the presence of the Canadiens twice:

Someone wearing a Habs' Cristobal Huet T-shirt was spotted in the "mixed zone," the cattle pen at National Stadium where the media jostle for a quick word from the athletes who are leaving the track. And someone else in an Alex Kovalev shirt was seen in Olympic Village, though not in the area of the Russian team.

There's been nothing in the papers over here about Mats Sundin, though there has been a lot about team handball and even "modern" pentathlon.

One thing's for certain: I'll never again curse the media mob at the Bell Centre staking out players in the dressing room. You want a scrum? Try getting near Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt

Eager to get home and crank it up for training camp. The interesting part of that is, it will take so long to get over jetlag, the Canadiens will be playing a lot of games at 7:30 in the morning...

Circle the date on your calendar:

Monday, Sept. 15: Canadiens rookie camp begins at the Bell Centre.

It lasts till the 18th. Canadiens veterans have their physicals on Sept. 19 and training camp starts on the 20th.

•  •  •

Will You-know-who be there?

Howard Berger doesn't think so. He says Mats Sundin is a perfect fit for the Rangers.

And Ducks Blog says the future of Teemu Selanne hinges on Sundin because once the big guy decides what he's doing and where he's going, Anaheim will be able to deal Mathieu Schneider to free up cap space for Selanne.

An Eklund rumour ... a Sundin sighting ... what was it the Boomtowm Rats sang about Mondays?

This just in from Ornskoldsvik:

Sportsnet caught up Greta Garbo at the Peter Forsberg golf tournament (see those bags in the background).

Doesn't Sundin look happy to have a good walk spoiled by questions about his future?

Jeez, and people say Heath Ledger looks scary in The Dark Knight.

"I haven't decided yet," Sundin said. "I think sometime in August I hope to come to a conclusion on what I'm going to do -- if I'm going to play or not this year."

Sundin said conditioning won't be an isssue, if and when. He works out year-round and is always in shape.

In his Boston Globe column, Fluto Shinzawa suggests the Canadiens might be better off if they don't sign Mats Sundin:

Despite the uncertainty surrounding Mats Sundin, the Canadiens are still thought to be in the mix for the big Swedish centerman if he decides to continue his NHL career this fall. However, the Canadiens may be in better shape if they don't land Sundin, considering the number of big-time contracts GM Bob Gainey will be scheduled to negotiate next summer. Currently scheduled to hit the market: top-line right wing Alex Kovalev, captain Saku Koivu, sniper Alex Tanguay, shutdown D-man Mike Komisarek, forward/defenseman Mathieu Dandenault, and valuable core guys Steve Begin, Tom Kostopoulos, and Francis Bouillon. That's two of your top five 2007-08 scorers in Kovalev (84 points) and Koivu (56), and four of your top seven hitters in Komisarek (266 hits), Bouillon (168), Kostopoulos (128), and Begin (119). Montreal also has forwards Tomas Plekanec, Christopher Higgins, Guillaume Latendresse, and Kyle Chipchura hitting restricted free agency next July. Considering the healthy raises sure to come for Kovalev, Komisarek, Plekanec, and Higgins, there's no way the 2009-10 Canadiens will resemble the top-flight club that was poised to make a Cup run in 2007-08. One of the skills required in the post-lockout world is overlapping players to ensure that a big block of contracts doesn't expire at the same time. The Bruins will face that issue after 2010-11, when Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, Michael Ryder, Marco Sturm, and Chuck Kobasew are scheduled to reach UFA status.

He's totally wrong.

Sundin is The Man for the centennial season, and 2009-'10 will sort itself out.

Brett Favre is a New York Jet.

Manny Ramirez is a Los Angeles Dodger.

Mats Sundin is a ...

Hey, maybe the Canadiens' Plan B is Chad Pennington.

•  •  •

Meanwhile, life in Toronto goes on without him.

From the Sun:

"When I find out for sure about Mats Sundin, then I'll worry about life with or without him," said Ron Wilson, in town for summer meetings with general manager Cliff Fletcher.
"Cliff and I just roughed out some lines, but a lot can change between now and Sept. 19 (when training camp opens)."
Sundin remains non-commital about playing or retiring, with agent J.P. Barry saying in recent days that the captain's indecision could be a hint he's not coming back.

Steve Yzerman says players should think long and hard before hanging up their skates.

''If there's any doubt and guys aren't sure, I think they should be playing,'' Yzerman says. ''You can be retired for the rest of your life. You'll know when you're done.

''If you're not 100 per cent certain that you don't want to play anymore, then the decision is that you should be playing.''

•  •  •

Allen Muir of Sports Illustrated analyzes Scotty Bowman's move to Chicago and throws in a shot at the Leafs:

While the Hawks seemingly can do no wrong in the Rocky Wirtz era, Bowman's willingness to go to Chicago is another glaring example of the ineptitude of the Maple Leafs. Rumors that Bowman wanted to run every facet of the organization ring pretty hollow when you consider that the 74-year-old was hardly an everyday face in the Wings' offices.

It's safe to read his refusal to join the Leafs as a negative assessment of the team's operation. Bowman, like all great leaders, likes to surround himself with people who are just as committed to greatness. That type is scarce -- maybe even extinct -- in the current Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment hierarchy.

Muir also weigh in on Sundin:

Calling it quits is an option, but I'm betting he pushes on, taking a two-year deal with a contender in the next couple weeks. Look for Montreal, Colorado and -- if only for old time's sake --Toronto to be the most likely landing spots.

In an exclusive interview with Habs Inside/Out Stockholm bureau chief Bjorn Jesterdee, Mats Sundin promises a decision his future by Thanksgiving at the latest.

"And I mean Canadian Thanksgiving," Sundin added.

We interrupt regular Habs Inside/Out programming for news from Sweden, where H I/O special correspondent Hakan Weezin reports Mats Sundin will DEFINITELY make a decision about his hockey future by Labour Day.

How do you spell relief?

N-O-L-E-A-F-S

Better Saturdays may be in store for long-suffering Hockey Night in Canada viewers who yearn to see teams not wearing blue and white jerseys.

William Houston reports in the Globe and Mail that Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson are moving east to become HNIC's primary broadcast crew, and the national telecast "will not always involve the Toronto Maple Leafs, as it has in the past. If the Leafs struggle through a losing season, which is expected, the CBC's distribution of their games could be limited to Ontario.

"Hughson and Simpson would call a national game involving the Ottawa Senators or Montreal Canadiens. Cole and Millen would announce the Leafs' telecast in Ontario."

•  •  •

Well, it's August 1 and this just in from Stockholm:

Please make this merry-go-round stop before we all hurl.

In the latest episode of As the Stomach Turns, J.P. Barry, Mats Sundin's 10-per-center, has told a Vancouver radio station that up to six teams may be interested in his client's services.

''The number has gone up, not gone down since July 1st,'' Barry told the Team 1040 Sports Radio station in Vancouver. ''The other three (teams) would like not to be discussed as much publicly because it just provides more scrutiny.''

And tomorrow as some sort of deadline?

As they say in Stockholm, Fuhgedaboudit!

Barry: "You know, when he was speaking in Sweden about August, unfortunately a lot of people picked up 1st of August. He meant August. He meant sometime in August he would definitely decide because he'll definitely be in training camp.''

The Globe and Mail's David Shoalts weighs in on pursuit of the puck-teaser by writing: It seems Sundin would rather not anger Leaf fans by signing with the hated Canadiens.

Just like he didn't anger them by tuirning down a trade-deadline deal that would have helped the future of the club.

RDS reports Bob Gainey phoned J.P. Barry, Mats Sundin's agent, on Tuesday.

While  the sports network did not reveal the substance of the conversation, a source in Sweden has sent a recording of it to Habs Inside/Out.

Gainey: If you change your mind, I'm the first in line
Honey I'm still free
Take a chance on me
If you need me, let me know, gonna be around
If you've got no place to go, if you're feeling down
If you're all alone when the pretty birds have flown
Honey I'm still free
Take a chance on me
Gonna do my very best and it ain't no lie
If you put me to the test, if you let me try

Take a chance on me
(That's all I ask of you honey)
Take a chance on me

Barry: (Unintelligible)

Gainey: I don't wanna talk
About the things we've gone through
Though it's hurting me
Now it's history
I've played all my cards
And that's what you've done too
Nothing more to say
No more ace to play

The winner takes it all
The loser standing small
Beside the victory
That's his destiny 

 Barry: Mamma Mia!

Two years ago, Mark Parrish signed the longest contract in the history of his hometown team, the Minnesota Wild.

Now with THREE YEARS left on the deal, the 31-year-old right wing is on waivers – a victim of the NHL salary cap.

Wild beat man Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:

After not being able to trade Parrish, General Manager Doug Risebrough
chose this route in order to free up salary cap space (the Wild is
$2.13 million under the $56.7 million cap), as well as give Parrish a
chance to start fresh elsewhere.
"I'm uncomfortable how close we are to the cap," Risebrough said. "I
was looking for solutions, and not a small solution, a big solution.
Very few people fell into that category.
"I looked at our existing players. We're invested in our young players.
Who's left? It's Parrish. It's just the timing of our team right now,
and I wanted to give Mark a chance to go somewhere else. ... I thought
I owed it to him."

Parrish was a third-round draft choice (79th overall) by the Colorado Avalanch in 1996. Before he had played an NHL game, the  Avalanche traded Parrish to the Florida Panthers along with a 3rd round selection in the 1998 draft in exchange for Tom Fitzgerald.

In one of Hockey Night in Canada genius Mike Milbury's great trades, Parrish was sent to the Islanders in 2001 with Oleg Kvasha in the deal that sent Roberto Luongo and Olli Jokinen to the Panthers.
He was traded along with Brent Sopel to the Los Angeles Kings on March 8, 2006, for Jeff Tambellini and Denis Grebeshkov. That summer, he signed with Minnesota: five years at $2.65 million per.

And now the scrap heap of hockey history.

It's a cruel business.

Will Mats Sundin announce his choice of teams on Friday?

Probably not.

Sundin's agent, J.P. Barry, told the Toronto Star he and his client have arrived at what the agent called a "soft deadline" of Aug. 1 to decide whether Sundin wants to play hockey this season.

That will be Step One: an announcement that he's coming back.

Barry said Sundin will need the time after that to physically prepare for training camp if he does not retire.
"I just think he's looking for that internal feeling he needs to have to play at the level he wants to play. He doesn't just want to be a player, he wants to be a dominant player," Barry said.

• Pat Hickey's take

Boston Globe beat man Fluto Shinzawa looks at the summer's unfinished business, including the chain of events that will be triggered by Mats Sundin's decision:
First, the free-spending general managers of the league - some NHL personnel consider Boston boss Peter Chiarelli among this bunch for throwing $12 million at Michael Ryder - have put some clubs over or near the $56.7 million cap ceiling, which guarantees shifting of salaries prior to the 2008-09 season.

Anaheim will most assuredly move defenseman Mathieu Schneider, his puck-moving abilities, and his $5.625 million contract to a club that can absorb such a cap hit. Chicago will undoubtedly move goalie Nikolai Khabibulin's $6.75 million salary, especially with newbie Cristobal Huet ($22.5 million over four years) expected to grab the No. 1 job. Ex-Bruin Mike Knuble, entering the final year of his contract (a mere $2.8 million per season), might be up for grabs for a club seeking a power forward.

Second, Mats Sundin has pledged to make a decision on his future by Friday, which should let loose a torrent of activity for the clubs that lose out on the pivot's services - if, in fact, the big Swede decides to return to the NHL.

•  •  •

Frequent poster Sidhu sends a YouTube link to a lovely feature on Georges Laraque, produced when he was in Edmonton.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbSOd5P8g2A

Interesting to hear Laraque talk about the influence of Jackie Robinson on his life. (1955 photo by Ralph Morse)

•  •  •

What are you doing at 7:30 p.m. on Boxing Day?

Canada vs. the Czech Republic at the World Juniors in Ottawa.

Complete tournament sked.

There is no Mats Sundin news today.

There is no other hockey news worth mentioning.

So turn off your computer, go out and get some sun.

It'll do you good.

And maybe tomorrow the Canadiens will call a press conference ....

But probably not.

Mats Sundin says he'll announce his decision on Aug. 1.

Before proceeding, let us pause for a brief invocation by Montreal's poet laureate, the great Loenard Cohen:

If it be your will
That a voice be true
From this broken hill
I will sing to you
From this broken hill
All your praises they shall ring
If it be your will
To let me sing 

If it be Mats Sundin's will to play for the Canadiens, fans will be singing his praises – from Mount Royal and beyond – between Aug. 2 and some time in the late – possibly very late – spring of 2009.

Have the salt shaker ready while reading this from Eklund, the anonymous (that pic is the only known photo of him) blogger at HockeyBuzz.com:

Some quotes from various sources who have emailed me this evening.
An Assistant GM:
"They (the Canadiens) finally feel they are going to get him (Mats). They are dying to make an announcement soon."
A Scout:
"People have stopped buying that the Leafs are going hard after Mats. Everyone is startin gto assume it will be the Habs."
A Swedish Player:
"Mats is preparing tonight for something that is coming soon. Many of us wold be shocked if it made it past Monday....and even more shocked if it wasn't Montreal."
A senior NHL person:
"It is all falling into the Habs lap. The Rangers are out of it and Mats does owe it to himself to play another season. To try and bring Stanley back to Montreal for the Centennial."

So is it in the bag? Do we have to wait till Aug. 1? Should a (mostly) respectable, (frequently) intelligent, (occasionally) authoritative Canadiens web site be propagating rumours?

Don't touch that dial.

• Boone weighs in.

The Gazette asked readers to suggest enticements that might persuade Mats Sundin to sign with the Canadiens.

Their ideas ranged from mouth-watering – a Schwartz's smoked meat sandwich – to fanciful: "a guarantee that the French media doesn't hound him."

Sundin is probably more of a Toqué kind of guy. And he handled Toronto media for 13 years (though it probably seemed longer).

How about $7 million, two wings named Alex and the chance to meet Red Fisher?

•  •  •

Steven Stamkos won't be at the Canadian World Junior development camp in Ottawa next week.

But P.K. Subban, who was on the team that won gold in January, will be there.

To a Swedish newspaper, translated at Hockeybuzz.com.

 Canadiens seem to be an afterthought in his comments, which are mostly about Toronto and Vancouver.

But Sundin does say if it were about money only, he'd have signed with the Canucks by now.

Mats Sundin's agent denies a Swedish newspaper story that his client has signed with Vancouver.

And so the soap opera continues – and it's becoming absurd.

Enough, already!

How hard can this decision be?

Vancouver = $$$

Montreal = Glory

Toronto = Toronto

Retirement =  Brett Favre

Any questions?