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Sundin's Leaf career may be over

DAVID SHOALTS

Globe and Mail Update

Latest comment posted at 10:58 PM EST 05/04/08

It's looking more and more likely that the Leafs captain is done for the season, reports David Shoalts in his gameday update ...Read the full article

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  1. DT . from Canada writes: Say goodbye to the Swedish Vampire. At least we have all the championship memories.
  2. Vern says you're a liar from Canada writes: If I were a Leaf fan I would be so upset right now. He cost the Leafs a chance at the Stamkos sweeps, then gets injured and costs the Leafs the chance for the cup. Now he's done for the rest of the year (big deal)...And will be gone next year.
  3. Hugh Draper from Vancouver, Canada writes: You need a Canadian captain to win the cup; don't they know this?

    ...never mind.
  4. Simon Croswell from Toronto, Canada writes: Gutless. The chicken Swede has got to go.
  5. Colin Fernandes from Mississauga, Canada writes: WELL I guess this is the begining of the end. Mat Stajan is now our number 1 centre........and our second is wellwood.........on boy.......Mats was the best we had....and he still put up great numbers without quality skilled players on his wings...........but that MLSE fault....... could you imagine the red wings having a Yzerman and then giving him no support players.......NO...neither could they,,,thats why they surrounded him with top notch players and won......Toronto did the opposit and it shows..... Its gonna take them at least 7 years to fix the mess that they are in...which is even worse without SUNDIN in the line up
  6. john wardle from Canada writes: geez all these G&M comments...Canadian ugliness at its finest!
  7. D K from Canada writes: Thanks Shoalts, but I already reported this when he first was injured. He is already in Sweden. But who will take them to a 10th place finish next year?
  8. Colin Fernandes from Mississauga, Canada writes: VERN ........SUNDIN did not cost the leafs a thing......The draft hahahah.......The last real player the leafs drafted that was any good was Wendal Clark and the rest of them have been grabage.....Sundin had a contract and honored it.......HE had the right to his no trade clasue......not management who agreed to it. Why would he waive it, whats in it for him.....why would he care about making a team better if he was leaving? Be realistic here....No team would trade for him and give away anything of big value without making sure they would be able to sign him for at least one more year....NO GM would mortgage a team for any player anymore...the cap made sure of that...... Plus the leafs have only four players of any real trade value in the marketplace.......Kaberle, Toskala, McCabe and Kubina with the later two way too expensive.....oh and Tucker would be a valuabe addition to most teams in a playoff race......the rest of the players should be in the minors....... Just the leafs need a Major HOCKEY executive making the decissions without full control and until that happens there will not even be any thinking of Lord Stanley! Unless that is if the leafs management makes a trip north to the Hockey Hall of Fame......
  9. i. ignatius from Mount Pleasant, Canada writes: hey john wardle:

    this isn't "Canadian Ugliness" ... Sundin and others in the NHL are "professionals". they're paid mercenaries, paid to play this game and play it well, and they're rewarded in a fine manner, beyond fair for what they actually do on/off the ice.

    so for the most part, it's reasonable to expect a return on these investments. Sundin has taken millions of dollars over the years, and returned zippo to the franchise. There's nothing Canadian, nor ugly, in this expectation. NHL is business and entertainment, nothing more, nothing less.

    the fact he had trade value and he said no to a trade, and now, he's got potentially zero value due to potentially career ending groin problems, shows that he was in this for himself. and he's got the right to be selfish if he desires, as that's what professional atheletes are all about.

    it would be Canadian Ugliness if this was an all-amateur situation, playing for the pure enjoyment of the game. Sundin, the Leafs and the NHL are far from playing for the enjoyment of the game.

    if there's anything ugly about this, is how this whole situation turned out, to the detriment of the franchise.
  10. Robert Miller from Halifax, Canada writes:
    i. ignatius from Mount Pleasant writes, "Sundin has taken millions of dollars over the years, and returned zippo to the franchise."

    ==================================================

    I nominate you for "Idiot of the Day."

    Anyone that can't see Sundin's contribution to the Leafs over the past 13 seasons shouldn't be commenting on a hockey article.
  11. Gavin Nettlefold from Canada writes: i. ignatius said: Sundin has taken millions of dollars over the years, and returned zippo to the franchise.

    Sundin did exactly what he was paid to do: play hockey and put butts in seats. Define a "return" to the franchise. A cup? A playoff spot? A Hart trophy? Sundin did the best he could with the team he had. Plenty of teams don't win the cup. Plenty of teams don't get into the Playoffs. Tons of players don't win the Hart trophy.

    No one player can win the cup, nor put the team into the playoffs. It takes a good team to get to the playoffs, to make it to the finals, and win the cup. When you've got a team filled 1/2 with good players and 1/2 with guys as skilled as myself, you likely won't go very far, even if you've got an all-star like Sundin or Kaberle.
  12. G B from Calgary, Canada writes: Where can I get my hands on one of those sweet Mats Sundin ashtrays?
  13. Pat Billings from CDN, Canada writes: Don't see why he would come back to this joke of a franchise. Unless, he wants to become the joke...
  14. Tom Camps from Canada writes: What's an ashtray?
  15. Alberto Bayo from Canada writes: i. ignatius from Mount Pleasant writes, "Sundin has taken millions of dollars over the years, and returned zippo to the franchise."

    Sundin consistently produced around 80 points per season...for over a decade in Toronto. I'd call that a significant contribution.
  16. steve allan from Canada writes: Is it any wonder the Toronto Maple Leafs are a failed franchise - they want to run the best player to play for them in the last 40 years out of town!

    The fact is if the Leafs lose Sundin they will not be competitive for years to come. This team will be in a rebuilding mode for the next decade. Get used to the mediocrity, it's about to get worse.
  17. Johnny Red from Canada writes: Is this the LCBO comment board?

    I've never seen so much whine in my entire life.

    Sundin is great & the Leafs will be fine. Go Leafs Go.
  18. George Lucas from Canada writes: There is a lot of talk about keeping Kabina and Andropov. They will be too old before the Leafs are any good again, assuming the Leafs are good again. For once, why not trade veterans, who are at the top of their value. Nick is injury prone and Kabina could easily slide back into a mediocre defenceman.

    If you can get something for McCabe do it. I would virtually strip the team down. No one has been interviewed for the GM position, so it appears that Cliff will be handling the draft, which is not a great idea considering his past record. The Leafs may snare a top notch GM
    after the playoffs are finished, but, if you judge management by its past actions, rather than its words, I would not be overly optimistic.
  19. g h from Canada writes: i. ignatius from Mount Pleasant writes "...shows that he was in this for himself. and he's got the right to be selfish if he desires, as that's what professional atheletes are all about."
    Do you make decisions which favour your employer over your own or your family's best interests? Would you let your employer send you to another city, where you prefer not to go, if you didn't have to? Of course not, no one would.
    So many people have this mentality that because athletes are paid crazy sums of money to play a sport, that this also gives the fans all kinds of additional rights...the right to know about their personal lives, the right to hurl personal insults at them if they don't perform to their expectation, etc.
  20. T H from Canada writes: How many times does Mats have to say that he wants to continue playing for the Leafs before Shoalts and company will believe him?? The only way Sundin won't wear a Leaf uniform next year is if he's retired and wearing a golf shirt instead.

    As hard as it is to understand, he loves the team, and isn't going to stab them in the back by jumping elsewhere.
  21. Paul G from Toronto, Canada writes: Maybe he's come to his senses and realized that hockey is not a real sport... more like Gladiators on ice.
    ...
  22. pierre lefebvre from Brossard, Canada writes: Mat Sundin has been a class act throughout his NHL career with Nordiques and Maple Leafs. Day-in and day-out Sundin worked hard and produced. More importantly he was of the honorable category that made people appreciate his presence. For those Don Cherry goons and tugs fans Tie Domi was the true leader of Maple Leafs and Eric Lindros its dream player (go figure out). And last time Stanley Cup stopped in Toronto was more than 40 years ago.
  23. max from edmonton from Canada writes: Sundin is a fine player that in my opinion disproved the myth he was a poor playoff performer.

    Wether Mats is in T.O. next year or not, the leafs will not be a contender. I tend to agree with the poster suggesting a total breakdown and revamp of the team.

    You can finish 8-10 every year, or you can take a year or two to finish 12-14th and come back stronger than ever.

    Here's hoping the Oilers prove this theory out in the next 2-3 seasons. Go Oil!
  24. i. ignatius from Mount Pleasant, Canada writes: gh and others ... i recognize that "consistent 80 points per season" is a significant contribution, and that he helped put bums into the seats at ACC, but as the bonafide superstar of the team, he failed to provide what players like Yzerman, Sakic, etc., have done for their respective franchises, and that's bring home the ultimate prize. For that, he's not quite worthy of the heaping praise that i consistently read about. Other than that, he's a fine player and is an asset, not the be all and end all that Leaf fans have made him out to be. regarding gh's comment about employers ... geez, how can we even compare us humble wage earner fans, who generally squeeze out under $100k a year family income earned from our employers, compare to Sundin and others who consistently earn $5M a year from their employer. honestly, to "uproot" when you're paid as much as they are, is HARDLY the same sort of problem than when you're being paid $50k a year. So when a pro athelete makes on par with what their fans earn, then sure, i'll give them the benefit of the doubt when it comes to "family" and other such issues, but until then, the fact they earn generally 100 times the wages of the fans, i'll give them 1/100th of the sympathy on that issue. i await the flames on that one ... btw, i'm a Sens fan thru and thru, and if this discussion dealt with Alfie and him being the appropriate trade bait to fix the team's woes, i'll also side with management doing what it takes to make a winner. I love Alfie as much as most Leafs fans love Sundin, but I also understand that this is a business, and the business must do what it takes to be successful. Mediocrity is not an option!
  25. B St from Canada writes: Forget Sundin for a moment (at least for the rest of this season). What gives? Raycroft gets his first start since January 20? Why bother - bring up Pogge for a glimpse to the future, give the fans something to come out for in the last couple of games.

    It would be good for the kid to get a taste of the big leagues, and great for the fans to see what the future might hold from a goaltending perspective.

    Give Raycroft his walking papers - put the poor boy out of his misery and let him play golf.
  26. P P from Canada writes: Don't bring up Pogge and let him keep developing in the minors. He has lots of time.
    Sundin will probably come back next year and continue to lead the team. If he was on any of the top 5 teams in the East or West we would get rid of all the stupid comments saying he has done nothing in his 13 years as a Leaf. He seemed to be a great player on Team Sweden.
  27. Zarko Budisavljevic from Canada writes: Thank goodness.......Mats Sundin is a world class player, but sadly he did not show the leadership skills necessary to lead an NHL team into the "promised land" (similar to his countryman, Daniel "hitfrombehinderson" Alfredson).....Let's hope that the next Leaf administration is able to foster leadership in the style of Roberts, Clark, Gilmour and, Pat Burns. Goodbye Mats, have fun back in Sweden!
  28. Paul I from Rochester NY, United States writes: Bs T- Let's not give Pogge a "glimpse" of the future. It might scar him for life.
  29. j.r ewing from vancouver, Canada writes: I knew Wellwood was not 100%. It was like watching someone else play. Hopefully he isn' messed up for life after two botched surgeries. As for Sundin, there is no reason to be critical of a guy who has been one of the most consistent and well rounded players in the game; not to mention a hell of a nice guy.
  30. Vern says you're a liar from Ottawa, Canada writes: Colin...Just as Ottawa would have been a better team is Redden waived his no-trade, Toronto would have been better if Mats split. The guy is a very good player, but on the whole, the team isn't up to par. 3 years no playoffs and no Stanley in my lifetime...They had a chance to get very good draft picks in a very strong draft and couldn't because of Sudin et al.
  31. Paul I from Rochester NY, United States writes: Vous monsieurs, sont plein de la connerie! et vous etes tous les grand sacs de vent.
  32. Zarko Budisavljevic from Canada writes: no comments from politicians please mr dion
  33. puddin and pie from Canada writes: the leafs have sucked since they traded away the Mahovlich brothers
  34. B G from Toronto, Canada writes: "honestly, to "uproot" when you're paid as much as they are, is HARDLY the same sort of problem than when you're being paid $50k a year."

    not really. you couldn't pay me enough to move to Edmonton.
  35. Hap Stokes from Canada writes: Matt Sundin has been and continues to be the CLASS of a classless team. Excellent player since the Nordiques drafted him. Can you imagine what a hockey career he would of had if he had stayed with the Nordiques and gone to Denver with them?

    Joe Sakic, Patrick Roy, Ray Borque, Blake and the list goes on. Oh boy did Bobby Clarke get shafted on that draft trade of Forsberg for Lindros that gave all those Cups to the Avs! Think how much better they would have been if Sundin had stayed. Maybe 4 Cups, probably 5 bet it would be more. Sundin is a class act.

    Anyway Mr Shoalts, what's happening in the real hockey world? Will Koivo be back for the 1st Round? Is Pronger staying sharp and how many games has he have left on that 8 game suspension? Is Garon ready yet? How is Marty Turco playing?--Some real hockey, not anymore of fantasy about the Leafs Sir. The Toronto Maple Leafs are gone, gone, gone. The Leafs are irrelevant until Sept 2009.

    Tonight (at 10 EST) Colorado is in Vanc, suggest you watch it. A very important game, should be a hell'va dust up and could decide it the Canucks will make the Big Dance or not this spring.
  36. W R from Stratford, PE, Canada writes: puddin and pie from Canada writes: the leafs have sucked since they traded away the Mahovlich brothers

    They traded Frank. They never had Peter.
  37. Let Love Reign O'er Canada from Innisfil, Canada writes: Where does anyone in the Leafs camp say he is finished?
    This G and M paper continues to slide every day.
    National Enquirer anyone?
    To quote Charlie Brown: Good Grief!
  38. Hap Stokes from Canada writes: B G from Toronto, Canada writes: . you couldn't pay me enough to move to Edmonton.
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Appreciate you views BG, but I have to query them. Eye'm a guitar picking Square from Bluenoseland that now lives on Vanc Is. My job takes me to every town and city in all Canada, been to the Arctic many times and across this great country many hundred of times more than that.---I've been everywhere man!

    My favorite people are the fun loving Goofy Newfies.
    The best food is in Montreal which is my favorite big city too.
    Yeah BC and NS are the most beautiful, and N. Ontario is great too.
    But the Rockies ain't too bad either.

    But give me Alberta to feel like I'm Canadian.
    Every little town lite up 24 hrs a day.
    You can sense the energy in all the Albertan people.
    Plus they love C/W music also BG.

    Truthfully BG, I go to Toronto perhaps 25 plus times a year.
    It's OK but the people there yim/yam and bellyache more than Vanc
    Now Calgary, boy there's a lively town (BG)
    Edmonton (Garlic City) ain't as good as Calgary for life.
    Yet it's 20 times livelier than Toronto.
    They don't call it "Toronto the Good"--for nothing BG

    Free Country, but Methinks you got it screwed on the wrong way pal.
  39. Colin Fernandes from Mississauga, Canada writes: Vern: The players you speak of: Yzerman, Sakic .......are you kidding me.........(two of my all time fav's) wouldnt be as good as there records show if they were playing for the leafs.....becaue those players were always surrounded by quality players around them.......Yzerman had Federov, Shannahan, Chelios....and Sakic had Blake, Forsberg and a host of other players who are ten times better than any players on the leafs roster....except sundin. and LOOK at how long it took them to win! Imgine what numbers Sundin would have put up with those types of players on his team. Heck he made Hoglund a decent player. AND look at how many records he has as a leaf.......quite amazing........
  40. JM The Habs Fan from Calgary, Canada writes: Paul G from Toronto, Canada writes: Maybe he's come to his senses and realized that hockey is not a real sport... more like Gladiators on ice.
    ___________________________________________________ Hey Paul, hockey is a real sport. You're just not man enough to understand how tough it is to play and how tough you have to be to play. Yup, Crosby isn't fun to watch. He just fights anyway right. Maybe figure skating is more your thing. Or what I like to call it "Sissy Paul on ice".
  41. JM The Habs Fan from Calgary, Canada writes: Most of these comments show that Leaf fans are as dumb as Leaf management. How can you say bad things about Sundin. He has only gave his all everynight and is possible the best player the Leafs have ever had. Maybe if management put some players around him you might have won something. Atleast make the finals. The Leafs are going nowhere fast. Even Peddie says the have nothing going for them and that's the Pres of MLSE. Without Sundin your #1 centre is now Stajan. Wow, talk about a downgrade. Yup...it's Sundin's fault you haven't won the cup. Well maybe if Leaf fans pray enough they will make the playoffs in, let's see here, a decade if their lucky. I love being a Habs fan.
  42. noel fowles from writes: i. ignatius from Mount Pleasant, Canada writes: gh and others ... i recognize that "consistent 80 points per season" is a significant contribution, and that he helped put bums into the seats at ACC, but as the bonafide superstar of the team, he failed to provide what players like Yzerman, Sakic, etc., have done for their respective franchises, and that's bring home the ultimate prize.
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    You truly are a bird of little brain. Check out the Detroit supporting cast for Stevie Y...Federov, Lidstrom, Shanahan, Larianov, and the list goes on. One trick ponies usually don't go far.
  43. W R from Canada writes: JM The Habs Fan from Calgary, Canada writes: How can you say bad things about Sundin. He has only gave his all everynight and is possible the best player the Leafs have ever had. ..Maybe if management put some players around him you might have won something.

    JM, he doesn't give his all every night. As someone who had season tickets for years I watched Mats just go through the motions many many nights. A ten year old could have taken the puck away from him on those nights.

    There is an old adage in hockey that the great players make their "ordinary" linemates look better than they really are. That is something that Sundin has never been able to do which is one of the reasons I don't agree with the "best" tag that you want to hang on him. He is a good individual player but throughout his career he has been grossly overrated particularly by the Toronto media.
  44. SY GIL from TO, Canada writes: RAYCROFT MUST STAY NEXT YEAR!!!

    ENOUGH NONSENSE OF BUYING OUT RAYCROFT, TRADING HIM, OR SHIPPING HIM TO THE MARLIES. RAYCROFT IS THE KEY TO THE LEAFS' FUTURE. WITH HIM, THEY HAVE A GOOD CHANCE OF GETTING TAVERAS. WITHOUT HIM, THEY'LL PROBABLY REPEAT WHAT THEY'VE DONE THE LAST 3 YRS - NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR PLAYOFFS BUT OUT THE LOTTERY.

    WHILE WE'RE AT IT, WHY DON'T WE OFFER WOZ A MINIMUM CONTRACT. THE ADDED BONUS FOR THE TPP IS THEY'LL BE RAKING IN SO MUCH DOUGH, THEY'LL NEVER WANT TO PART WITH THE LEAFS.
  45. Jah Rodmon from Dogfin, Canada writes: Wow!! Sundin has been a world class person and hockey player for many years. The fact that leaf fans (I am one ) do not have the patience to let the organization rebuild is certainly a contribting factor in the status of the leafs. The leafs had some good teams under Pat Quinn but unfortunately were unable to clear the final hurdle. Perhaps if Larry Murphy (Hall of famer and stanley cup winner!!!!) was not booed out of town things would be different. Hopefully the leafs will hire a qualified GM and allow him the autonomy to run the team.

    I wonder how many times over the years many of the persons who commented, cheered a Matts Sundin overtime goal and high fived their buddies.

    I would suggest that many of the posters read some literature on emotional intelligence and anger management!!

    Go Habs Go!!
  46. Patrick Matheson from Canada writes: If this is true... YEA!

    Time to get a CAPTAIN, a REAL A CAPTAIN...

    Someone that puts the team 1st, backs the players up and gets it done.
    Someone that will drop the gloves and hand out a pounding as needed

    He was the wrong wrong person to pick as captain...

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