Mont Royale

This wasn't like United 93 in that the bus passengers had a real chance of surviving by running, which they did. The United 93 passengers didn't have that option, and having heard of the other planes, knew they were dead if they did nothing. They also had time to talk about and somewhat organize a response. And, when the guy is at the back of the bus, he doesn't have to worry about someone jumping him from behind, so he can concentrate his attention, and his knife, on those attacking frontally. Anyway, I think you're being unduly harsh in your assessment of ordinary people caught in an extraordinary situation. Certainly the United 93 passengers should be praised for their response, but it doesn't follow that the bus passengers should be criticized for theirs. The RCMP went out of their way to praise them.

People running from a madman with a knife is almost as appalling as somebody stabbing a guy to death and cutting his head off? I also think you're understating things by saying it would be 'no problem' for a group to overpower him. At the back of a bus, it's not practical to surround the guy, which leads to the likelihood that more people would have been stabbed when confronting him. While we may all think that we would be able to do 'something' if faced with a circumstance as bizarre and tragic as this, I don't think anybody really knows unless it happens. This was, by all accounts, a rather sleepy bus ride that turned suddenly tragic. A lot of people likely ran out not knowing what was going on, except that someone yelled 'knife'. As far as desecrating the body, that apparently happened after everyone was off the bus, and there's not much point putting yourself in danger to save a body.

If your insurer doesn't cover it, some types of credit cards offer insurance on car rentals.

It's pretty comical to see how much speculation is taking place about Sundin's decision, especially considering there has been virtually no meaningful indication from the man himself. It seems while the hockey-obsessed fans of the Habs/Canucks/Leafs have been wringing their hands, Sundin has been... fishing. The bandwidth consumed (not necessarily talking about Habsworld, because we're much more rational here!) at various sites has been enormous. We're bound to reach the point where everybody has weighed in on the subject, aren't we? In fact, could the previous post by Wiggles be the case of the last holdout Habs fan putting his or her prediction on the record, inspired to open an account by this never-ending saga? (BTW Wiggles, welcome!) I think so. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if Sundin was simply waiting for the input of the world's interested parties to be made known, so he could make his decision in an climate of perfect information. Mr. Sundin, Wiggles has spoken. You may proceed.

Sundin is Eklund's dream come true... a player potentially involved with 2 of the most rabid fan bases in the league, plus throw in the Canucks and Rangers besides. Lotsa hits... keep that $$$ coming...

I have a confession: of course, I hate the Leafs, but I kind of like.... LeafsTV. I started getting it a few months ago because it was included as part of my re-jigged cable package, and I find myself watching it somewhat regularly now that the offseason is here. Watching it during the Leafs' brief season is pretty nauseating, but in the offseason they show a lot of old games. Of course, the Leafs are always involved, but occasionally so too are the Habs. Without LeafsTV, I never would have seen past Leafs greats like Dave Keon, Tim Horton, Frank Mahovlich, Johnny Bower, etc. etc. I also wouldn't have seen important games involving the Habs, like game 3 of the 1959 Stanley Cup finals, or game 3 of the 1978 semifinals. (The latter was just fascinating because of a penalty in overtime to Tiger Williams, leading to Larry Robinson's powerplay goal. Tiger was flipping out, trying to go after the ref, but was held back and settled down, by none other than Larry Robinson, while Tiger's teammates looked on. Larry was counseling Tiger not to ruin his career by hitting the ref, according to the interview with Robinson afterwards.) Anyway, in terms of learning more about the history of the game and its players, not to mention satisfying the off-season hockey fix, LeafsTV is great. If they ever came out with a HabsTV (with the accompanying vintage games), this world would be that much closer to heaven.

I don't think that Sundin has stated on the record a preference for playing anywhere in particular, other than Toronto - it's all hearsay and conjecture that he wants to stay in the east. Having said that, it's probably true that it's his preference, but I doubt he's definitively ruled out the whole western conference based on that. I agree he shouldn't have any obligation to Leaf fans, but I think you're overstating the response against him when he didn't waive at the trade deadline. Yes, there were some pissed off posters on internet message boards, and some media grumblings, but there were also a lot of people who respected his decision. I didn't hear any booing (although there were undoubtedly some isolated cases of such) or any other large-scale negative reaction while watching some of their home games on TV. At this stage of his career, I think one consideration in his decision will be his legacy, which will be impacted if he comes to Montreal. That's not to say it will be the decisive consideration, but it will be an issue to balance amongst the others (e.g. possible preference for the east, more $ in Vancouver, etc.). Personally, I don't think anybody in Toronto should begrudge him the right to play wherever he wants (and there are a fair amount of Toronto fans who agree). I also think any 'taint' from playing in Montreal will be temporary, and Leaf fans will embrace him once again upon his retirement. (Of course, if he wins the Cup in Montreal, it will be more difficult for them to get over it!) Hopefully, Sundin agrees and the issue won't be a big factor in his decision, but nobody knows what's going through his head at any given moment. As you say, he has shown a lot of loyalty to the Toronto organization and fans - not just lately, but for a long time - so it wouldn't surprise me if he wanted to avoid the whole perception of disloyalty by signing somewhere other than Montreal (or Ottawa, but they're apparently not in the running).

I'm not sure where they're at, but if Sundin accepted their offer, they can be over the cap by 10%. Then they'd get to work clearing space before the season starts. Montreal may have to do the same thing if Sundin decides to sign here - depending on how much the deal is for.

Jagr to Russia, it seems. Link Have the Rangers used up enough cap room to put Sundin out of reach?

Link

Yep, the Habs are on a charity mission to make the Leafs better. I can see that happening. Anyway, I don't know how much better Grabovski makes the Leafs. A different shade of suck, is all. I guess he might be their #1 centre now by default..

Ken Holland was on the radio yesterday talking about the Hossa deal, and he was asked if the possibility of Detroit signing Sundin still existed. His answer was no.

All that discussion is from the media and fans, not from Sundin or his agent.

Gainey as 'genius' is a bit of a stretch, but I agree he has been very prudent in how he's handled the situation. He knows what the team needs, and has tried to address it through a UFA. Unlike other GMs, he doesn't feel the $8 million burning a hole in his pocket, so he didn't make a serious run at someone else who DIDN'T meet the need. (Or at least, this is the sense I get, not knowing what he's actually been up to). I also think his approach to Sundin has been very respectful of the player, which will hopefully pay off once he makes up his mind. Other teams (Vancouver, anyway) are trying to tempt Sundin by throwing around big numbers. Gainey realizes that first Sundin has to make his mind up about playing again, and seems to have tried a soft-sell approach based on how he will fit into the team, living in Montreal, etc., while giving him the time and space to come to a decision (e.g. not rushing over to Sweden to get in his face when Sundin was apparently ambivalent). I almost think that Sundin would feel somewhat put off by the Vancouver offer (although flattered at the same time), just because it implies that he's holding out for more money, or that it's all about the money - when the reality is, he doesn't need the money, and needs to decide if he still has the desire to play.

For the record, here's the link: Sundin not ready

There's not a ton of guys who can score 30 goals in this league. For sure it's somewhat high, but nowhere near the worst contract we've seen in the last 24 hours.

Although not without his limitations, Mike worked hard and always seemed to have a good attitude. I appreciated him for that. Best of luck to him in Beantown - against teams not from Montreal.

I agree with your first sentence. I thought Gainey was pretty clear in stating that the compensation was contingent on Sundin signing before the deadline, but I could be wrong. As for the second, I think it's a moot point. The compensation is likely someone or something that Gainey has no major issue parting with if we get Sundin.

Tucker has been bought out now. Yeah, they've got a lot of roster spots to fill. Like you said, either they're going for a quick turnaround via UFA's, or they're promoting most of the Marlies in hopes of winning the Tavares sweepstakes, or (worst case scenario from a Habs viewpoint) they're going to throw a number of RFA offer sheets around. Fletcher is old school, so hopefully he won't go this route, but these are desperate times for the Leafs, so all options are being considered, I'm sure.

Not to pile on, but did you give this much thought? Mats, if he signs here at all, will likely only be here for 1 year, 2 at the most... but we should trade Koivu at the deadline because of Mats?

Very nice. Is that Grabovski chasing him?

I know, but it's been reported that the Leafs have offered him 1 year, $7 million, presumably before the Montreal deal came into effect. Toronto can't negotiate further with him until July 1st, but I would think he could just sign off on Toronto's offer if so inclined. All we have are exclusive negotiating rights right now.

I would've like to see him come to Montreal, but if he couldn't come here, my next choice was that he be sent to the desert. This works.

I can't see it being much - definitely not a roster player. Somebody on TSN commented that at best for Toronto it might be something along the lines of a 2nd round pick next year, which seems reasonable. I don't think it has to be much for Fletcher to be interested - he's probably thinking that Sundin might sign with us (or somebody other than the Leafs) after July 1, so he might as well get what meagre return he can. If Sundin wants to stay in Toronto, he has the offer on the table to do so.

The Fan in Toronto was saying that Burke and Coates didn't really get along, and Coates' contract in Anaheim was not going to be renewed. Coates is there apparently because of his friendship with Fletcher, not Burke. Curious move if Burke is really their target. On the other hand, maybe this is Fletch's way of making himself comfortable, and HE wants the job permanently. I can't wait for the next episode...