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TORONTO — Mats Sundin will not play again this season for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but he is not ready to decide whether he will be back with the team next season.
The team captain said yesterday that his groin injury, which flared up again after one game back in the lineup, is unlikely to get better fast enough to play in the Maple Leafs' final two games of the NHL's regular season: tonight at home against the Ottawa Senators and on Saturday in Montreal against the Canadiens. The better course, he said, is to rest and then undergo three to four weeks of rehabilitation.
On his future in Toronto, Sundin was no more forthcoming than he was in the past. He said he wouldn't go to another NHL team as a free agent, but was not ready to say whether he wants to play another season.
"As I said before last summer, I'm at the stage of my career where I'm 37 years old, and I do want to play it year by year," Sundin said. "I am going to sit down once this season is over, analyze my own situation, how I played, physically and mentally how I feel and if I'm ready to start training for another season."
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Sundin said he does not have a time frame for his decision, which could be a problem for the Leafs. Cliff Fletcher, the interim general manager, is hoping for a decision by the weekend of the NHL entry draft on June 21. Sundin is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
"My biggest thing is I want to get this injury sorted out," Sundin said. "That's the only thing I'm worried about."
