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Sundin: will he sign here? (Take 2)


Mats: predict the outcome  

63 members have voted

  1. 1. Are we a-gettin' Big Mats?

    • Yes
      41
    • No
      18
    • I don't want him anyway
      4


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That is some wishful thinking! Dandy will never get you a 1st round pick...even less when he's in the last year of his contract!

Actually, we might even have to add a prospect just to get rid of his contract, like the Devils did by basically giving a 1st rounder to the Sharks to dump Vladimir Malakhov's contract off their salary cap. Of course, it might not cost us that much since the situation is a little different; Dandeneault can simply be sent to the minors, he's not retired, we're not desperate for cap space (unless Sundin wants in), and while Dandeneault is an overpaid useless bum, Malakhov made twice as much money.

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That is some wishful thinking! Dandy will never get you a 1st round pick...even less when he's in the last year of his contract!

yes I know it is wishful thinking but I never thought we would get a 1st for rivet so a guy can dream can't he? :lol:

i forgot to put the happy face in the last one so you would know i was joking (but hoping)

Edited by habs rule
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Exactly, that's what I see too. I see our third line having a good mix of speed, toughness, hockey sense, character, and strong two-way play with Chipchura, Higgins and Sergei Kostsitsyn.

JoeLassister: I know that Carbonneau only said he's thinking about moving Sergei to the centre position, but if he does, that probably means that Chipchura is out with the possibility that the third line will be ruined by the presence of a guy like Mathieu Dandeneault (sadly I feel he'll be in the lineup for the first game).

I know, i'm 100% with you. I do want to see SK - Chip - Lats/Higgins on the 3rd. I just wanted to calm this hype about SK being a permanent C for next season. Media are bringing this up, not Carbo.

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I think it was Bob who said chips would have to play himself off the team, so if he puts that motivation to good use we could see some good things happen. As to dandy I think really it is a situation where he doesn't fit the team anymore and needs to find a new arena to hang out in. Lets get another 1st for him like we did rivet and I will be very happy.

Bob said the spot is his to lose. I'm not too worried about Dandenault stealing his spot.

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http://www.corussports.com/radio/audioplay...p;date=20080829

JP Barry on Montreal radio this am.

Sundin was a Habs fan growing up, and Barry said the Habs were the best option for Mats

I'm suprised no on else has posted this :unsure:

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I'm suprised no on else has posted this :unsure:
I noticed this just now but you beat me to it. For crying out loud: Everyone back on the Mats bandwagon. :clap: Barry's comments are very open to interpretation but it sounds very much like we are VERY MUCH (If he doesn't retire) back in the mix.

JP Barry doesn't give the impression that Canucks fans should have faith-IMO.

Edited by Athlétique.Canadien
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I noticed this just now but you beat me to it. For crying out loud: Everyone back on the Mats bandwagon. :clap: Barry's comments are very open to interpretation but it sounds very much like we are VERY MUCH (If he doesn't retire) back in the mix.

JP Barry doesn't give the impression that Canucks fans should have faith-IMO.

My computer audio is disfunctional...anyone care to summarize the main points? :huh:

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I noticed this just now but you beat me to it. For crying out loud: Everyone back on the Mats bandwagon. :clap: Barry's comments are very open to interpretation but it sounds very much like we are VERY MUCH (If he doesn't retire) back in the mix.

JP Barry doesn't give the impression that Canucks fans should have faith-IMO.

I wouldn'T get overexcited too soon. It wasn't "that guy" who said that his top two choices were Montreal and Vancouver. It was Barry. He said if you were to ask me, I'd choose Montreal or Vancouver.

I'm still not convinced! If "That guy" hasn't made up his mind by the start of training camp, i'd tell him to ###### off!

Edited by Habsfan
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Bob said the spot is his to lose. I'm not too worried about Dandenault stealing his spot.

i'm sorry but did i give you the mistaken idea i thought dandy would even be on this team? he doesn't have a spot much less steal one.

Edited by habs rule
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We're not the only ones Sundin hasn't spoken to, even his agent hasn't heard from him all week. Barry says that he'd say it's probably between Montreal and Vancouver if he decides to play. It means we're still definitely in the equation and that Toronto is probably out of the running.

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We're not the only ones Sundin hasn't spoken to, even his agent hasn't heard from him all week. Barry says that he'd say it's probably between Montreal and Vancouver if he decides to play. It means we're still definitely in the equation and that Toronto is probably out of the running.

If it's between us and Vancouver, I like our chances, because that franchise is in a more-or-less permanent state of confusion and its travel schedule sucks.

That Sundin doesn't seem to be any closer to a decision is a bit worrisome, though. Gainey's concerns about conditioning are legitimate. I can just see Sundin trying to jump in 1/3 into the season, then pulling a groin muscle or something because he's not in "game shape," and from there limping through a sub-par season as he struggles to recover. Scenarios like that happen all the time to players who hold out during training camp, start the season late, etc.. (Remember when Theo held out, years ago? And sucked much of the season as a result? :puke: Or all the guys that suffered groin pulls after the lockout because they hadn't played at that level for too long? c.f. Radek Bonk. )

It's also weird because, where Niedermeyer won the Stanley Cup before he pulled this little "whack-a-mole" stunt, and therefore had played an additional month-and-a-half of exceptionally gruelling hockey, Sundin's team missed the playoffs. So he's already had a massive layoff by any standard. His situation is not analogous to Neidermeyer's at all, either in terms of rewarding himself for winning a championship or in terms of recovering from an extraordinarily lengthy season. I'm beginning to suspect that he might be serious about retiring...

Edited by The Chicoutimi Cucumber
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It's also weird because, where Niedermeyer won the Stanley Cup before he pulled this little "whack-a-mole" stunt, and therefore had played an additional month-and-a-half of exceptionally gruelling hockey, Sundin's team missed the playoffs. So he's already had a massive layoff by any standard. His situation is not analogous to Neidermeyer's at all, either in terms of rewarding himself for winning a championship or in terms of recovering from an extraordinarily lengthy season. I'm beginning to suspect that he might be serious about retiring...

If anything, his situation is more like Selanne's last season. Scott Niedermayer was under contract, and chose not to honor it. In a way, with all due respect to Niedermayer, I think the league should do something about players not honoring their contract; Niedermayer basically took a few months off, and came back like nothing had happened. At least, he has the same salary every season, what if Briere decides to stop playing when his salary reaches "only" 3 millions?

Teams have to honor contracts, and so should players.

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Since it's been so quiet from all teams I'm going to assume Sundin hasn't really had talks with any teams just like Bob expressed he hasn't heard a peep himself.

I have a feeling we will get to hear directly from Mats what his intentions are next Friday when he gets bombarded by the media at the charity game or holds a press conference himself. Since Toronto is saying they are probably moving on I'm guessing it's HABS or retirement. I'm not buying the bullshit rumors about him dragging it out until december or later. At last years trade deadline he said he didn't want to be a rent a player and if he was to change teams he would want to be a part of a team from start to finish.

Is there still hope? I guess we'll see next Friday.

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This has got to give. It's either Mats or teams turning the page on him. Right now there are teams that need to lower their cap by trading. But the teams that they want to trade to are involved in the Sundin sweepstakes. Nevermind the players being held up.

Or vice versa. Wacko situation :blink: Where's Mats? :lol:

Thirty days until the start of the season! So, who is going to start to be penalized on October 4th because of Mats? Teams are going to start bailing soon. Maybe we already have but this has got to give soon.

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If you read quotations from his media scrum yesterday, you'll note that Mats has not skated once since last season and has not done any serious training.

The overwhelming impression is of a guy who would kinda, gosh, golly gee, like to play...but doesn't have the drive that it takes to prepare for an NHL season. That suggests a man who is 95% ready to retire. Presumably he's not making it official because he's cautious and wants to be sure.

Either way, he will clearly need a lot of prep time to catch up to his colleagues if he does want to play; he's 37 and has to work harder (not less!!) to stay in the same place.

My suspicion is that, once preseason games start up and he watches some action on TV, the itch to play will return in a more serious way. But that could result in a return several weeks from now, if it results in a return at all.

In short, at this stage Sundin does not seem to be serious. And while I grant that he has the right to take his time, he is now rather massively inconveniencing other players (Brisebois, Shanahan) whose seasons hinge on what he does - to say nothing of the teams that have patiently waited. The classy thing to do would be to say that, while he's not officially retiring, he has no immediate plans to come back and teams should move on to Plan B.

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I think the pokerstars.net endorsement deal is rather strange.

Why would Pokerstars want a hockey player that has retired in an endorsement deal?

Wouldn't it be better if he was still playing and in the public eye?

I would think they must have asked him about his intentions.

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The classy thing to do would be to say that, while he's not officially retiring, he has no immediate plans to come back and teams should move on to Plan B.

Isn't that pretty much was he's been saying since the beginning... the media and several general managers have been after him all summer, but he never asked for anything. His only answer since Day 1 has been "I don't even know if I'll be playing, so stop asking me where I want to play".

However I agree with that Sundin looks like a guy whose body and mind is saying "time to retire", but his heart might be saying "hockey is my life, and I want to retire as a winner". With that said, I'm not sure I want to see Sundin in Montreal at mid-season; it hasen't worked too well in the past for these players, for example Selanne, Niedermayer, and Forsberg.

Actually, I don't believe you can add an impact player, or even a star player, to your core in the second half of the season, and expect this to make you go farther. It takes time to develop a strong team chemistry, and to get everyone on board to play togother towards a common goal. Looking at all the somewhat recent Cup champions, I don't see a single team that acquired a huge player at the deadline, just players to fill holes. Even Ray Bourque didn't make a difference for the Avalanche the season he was traded, but he fully became part of that team the next season, leading them towards the Cup.

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My guess is that Bob will wait until this week end(sept 6th and 7th). If he doesn'T hear from "that guy" he will move to plan B. You could see it in Bob's and Guy's faces that they were starting to find this situation ridiculous.

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http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?articleid=38106...mp;service=page

I officially have zero interest in Mats Sundin. He has come right out and said that he will not decide before the season starts. I have no interest in a player who will not commit to an entire season and will lose much of my respect for him if he goes through with it. Roger Clemens syndrome is becoming far too regular and it needs to stop.

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I think the increase in players playing partial seasons, etc. is the lengthening of careers. Nowadays we find more and more players who can make big contributions to major league clubs in their late 30's, early 40's - it is not shocking that after 15-20 years of professional play a player wants to go to something resembling a part-time schedule, if only to avoid injury/fatigue.

When I'm coming towards the end of my career in my late 60's, early 70's (lawyer 70 = hockey player 37) I very well might reduce my hours and work part time. I'll probably take longer vacations and work fewer hours during the week. Hopefully, my experience and acumen will allow me to add to my firm even in this reduced role, but eventually my ability to perform my job will diminish and I will have to retire. It is quite likely that I will not know when that day has come until some time after the fact.

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I think the increase in players playing partial seasons, etc. is the lengthening of careers. Nowadays we find more and more players who can make big contributions to major league clubs in their late 30's, early 40's - it is not shocking that after 15-20 years of professional play a player wants to go to something resembling a part-time schedule, if only to avoid injury/fatigue.

When I'm coming towards the end of my career in my late 60's, early 70's (lawyer 70 = hockey player 37) I very well might reduce my hours and work part time. I'll probably take longer vacations and work fewer hours during the week. Hopefully, my experience and acumen will allow me to add to my firm even in this reduced role, but eventually my ability to perform my job will diminish and I will have to retire. It is quite likely that I will not know when that day has come until some time after the fact.

Yeah, but that's more like playing a full season, but taking a game off a week to keep the body fresh. What Clemens and the lot are doing is more comparable to letting junior members of a firm do all the grunt work, do the opening arguments, cross examine witnesses and then you come in to interview the star witness and give closing arguments. It's totally unfair to the one doing all the work when you come in and take all the glory. I know you're not looking to get into trial law, but it was the easiest analogy.

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I haven't read thru the 17 pages, but IMO he/Leafs were waiting till they moved McCabe freeing up some $$ for Mats. I see him back in the Blue and White

if he isn't coming to montreal then I hope you are right. He'll make the team just good enough to just miss the playoffs again. A perfect scenario. :clap:

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