Yardbarker: Mats Sundin

MATS SUNDIN RETIRED

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:34:14 -0500

The NHL will start its 92nd season tonight, but without one of its biggest international stars. Mats Sundin, who spent 13 seasons relatively unworthy of note with the Toronto Maple Leafs, retired yesterday. “Toronto is and always will be my second home,” said Sundin, who gave special thanks to the Maple Leafs organization. Sundin, an eight-time NHL [...]

Mats Sundin Leaves on Top

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:31:55 -0500

by Christopher BottaMats Sundin, who announced his retirement Wednesday morning at a press conference in Sweden, was a winner.Don't let the lack of a Stanley Cup on his resume fool you. Instead, just add Sundin to the list headed by Ernie Banks of the best professional athletes to not win his league's championship. When the magnificent Maple Leaf is inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in a few years, he'll have nothing to apologize for.Mats Sundin Leaves on Top originally appear...

Mats Sundin retires, allows us to get on with our lives

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:00:42 -0500

The agent for Mats Sundin(notes) said his client wasn't going to wait "too long" to announce his future plans ... back on Aug. 27. Given the satirical nature of Sundin's decision-making process in the past, we suppose waiting just over a month to announce his retirement from hockey should be applauded. No procrastination, getting right to the point; hey, marriage will do that to a guy.From the AP:"It was a tough decision," Sundin told reporters at a news conference...

Mats Sundin retires after nearly 20 seasons in NHL

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 06:37:19 -0500

Mats Sundin is retiring from hockey after nearly 20 seasons in the NHL. Sundin told reporters in Stockholm on Wednesday that he reached the decision this fall. The 38-year-old Swede played for the Vancouver Canucks last season after spending most of his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Sundin gave special thanks to the Maple Leafs organization and said that "Toronto is and will always be my second home.

Can Mats Sundin and 'make up his mind in short order' coexist?

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:52:16 -0500

Mats Sundin(notes), model of timely decisions. From Ken Campbell at The Hockey News, regarding Sundin's future:Amid speculation that Sundin has played his last NHL game, Sundin's agent J.P. Barry, who is in Stockholm for Sundin's wedding this Saturday, said he expects his client to make up his mind in short order after his wedding. Certainly, it won't be the half-season soap opera we saw last season when Sundin was waffling over his hockey future before signing with the Vancou...

Canucks BLEW IT, Way To Go!

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 12:28:31 -0500

Feeling quite comfortable throwing a reported five million dollars, or more, away, the Canucks signed much sought after Pokerstars.net spokesman Mats Sundin. With the signing, the Canucks hope to answer valuable questions, such as "Is he naturally bald? Or does he just shave it off?" and "Can he bring some of those IKEA meatballs?" Read More:

Mats Sundin chooses Rangers

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 22:41:15 -0500

Bob McCown from 590 The Fan in Toronto is reporting that Mats Sundin has chose the New York Rangers as his next team.

A source close to the situation between Sundin, the Rangers and various teams has told McCown the Sundin to Blueshirts deal will be announced later this week. You can check out ...

Sundin down to two teams by early next week - Chicago out

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 03:03:03 -0500

via Calgary Herald: Five teams remain in the hunt for free-agent centre Mats Sundin, although the Swedish star

Flyers interested in Sundin, but deal unlikely

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 13:08:37 -0500

If Mats Sundin decided to play this season, and decided that he would like to play in Philadelphia, Flyers' GM Paul Holmgren said that he would be interested in signing the All-Star forward. Holmgren has reportedly contacted Sundin's agent to notify the Swedish born star of the Flyers' interest in him. "I certainly wouldn't be optimistic about him becoming a Flyer, but I think we've got to do our due diligence and look into it. I haven't talked to his agent in the last 10 days, but they know we're one of the teams that would be interested in signing him, and we'll see where it goes," Holmgren said during Tuesday night's game against the New York Islanders. That being said, it is unlikely that Sundin will end up wearing the orange and black. For starters, he remains the hottest free agent on the market, stemming from the end of last season. He has not yet made any indications that he will definitely play this season, although he continues to work out and has been in contact with several teams, including Vancouver and the New York Rangers. He has set December 15 (next Monday) as his deadline for signing with a team for this season. He is said to be planning a visit with the Rangers this weekend. "You're always looking to make your team better if you can. I like our team, I think we're a good team, but I think there are a number of good teams," Holmgren said. "I think if we were able to get a guy like that we would be foolish not to look into it." Another obstacle to signing Sundin is the fact that the Flyers would have to move a substantial player out of the lineup. While Holmgren is reluctant to change his team to make room on the roster, but he says he would make an exception in this case. "If you're talking about a guy like Sundin, it's a different ball game," Holmgren said. In 17 NHL seasons with Quebec and Toronto, Sundin has 555 goals and 766 assists.

Sundin to the Avs? - Philly, Chicago and Vancouver still the leaders

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 19:12:11 -0500

via Denver Post: I'm reasonably confident the Avs have put their hat in the ring for the Mats Sundin "sweepstakes." But I'd say they have about a 5 percent chance of getting the chrome-domed Swede into a Burgundy and Blue uniform. I think Philadelphia and Chicago are the clubhouse leaders to land ...

Sundin back by December?

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 19:21:45 -0500

via ESPN: The list of suitors for Mats Sundin, we're told, is around 10-11 NHL teams. The Sundin camp will likely narrow that list down to three to four serious contenders by the end of the month. Sundin is obviously leaning toward playing this season, and if all goes well in his skating and ...

Rumor of The Day

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:22:02 -0500

We'd like to think that we've done a pretty damn good job of staying away from the Mats Sundin circus (especially now that he's visiting Toronto now), so you'll permit us this one little indulgence. News out of Stockholm the other day quoted Sundin as saying that he won't be making his mind up any [..

DECISIONS, DECISIONS: HAS MATS SUNDIN MADE HIS CHOICE?

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:28:25 -0500

by Mike Jack Captain Mats Sundin has been meditating and reflecting in his homeland of Sweden since the NHL's free agent signing period began on July 1st. An unrestricted free agent, Sundin has chosen this state in order to make the best decision possible about his ultimate future. Sundin's possible choices are: a) Sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team he's lead for the last 13 seasons for an alleged $7 million one-year deal. b) Sign with the Vancouver Canucks, t...

When did loyalty become a bad thing?

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:28:29 -0500

Hey, what's up with everyone in the yard? I thought I'd stop in today to talk some hockey. Growing up in Canada, hockey was as much a part of my life as lacrosse was, and even though lacrosse fills up most of my time now days, I still find some time to be a hockey enthusiast……make that a Montreal Canadiens enthusiast!!!! As many of you may know today was the NHL trade deadline. Since I am home in Waterloo, Ontario hockey rules on the t.v. and today was filled with full day "trade deadline" coverage across the board. Of course, living in the Maple Leafs viewing area, I was again overdosed with Leaf coverage. I grew up like most other Habs fans……I cheer for the Habs and whoever is playing the Leafs. But, today I have had a bit of an epiphany as I found myself absolutely enthralled with Mats Sundin's decision to stay and play with Leaf's. Deciding to hold up his no trade clause. In today's professional sporting world it is harder and harder to be fans of teams as well as fans of players. Each year you here players leaving for one reason or another, and the turnaround in professional sports today is tough to keep up with. I consider myself a sports enthusiast, but even I have to admit that it usually takes me until a month into each season to be fully aware of all the off season moves. I grew up at the end of the sporting era where players felt a connection to their team. Players loved their team, not only for the esthetics of it, but because it actually seemed that they rewarded their team with loyalty for giving them the opportunity to play with them. Now, I may be old school, but I sure enjoyed sports better when I knew the players playing for my favorite teams loved playing there as much as I loved watching them play there. For this reason, I want to write and commend Mats publicly for standing his ground. This guy has been a pillar for an organization that has seen players come and go for the past 12 years. He has been the team's best player, hardest worker and fearless leader for as long as he's been there. He loves playing for the Leafs and would rather lose with them, then win with someone else as a "loaned" player. In today's sports we hear all too often; "He deserves a chance to win". It seems to me that Matt's looks at it differently. His mentality seems to be "I want to help the Leafs win. That is my job, that is why I get paid what I do to be here." Yet, today when the smoke clears in Toronto there will be thwarts of fans asking "why wouldn't he waive his clause to help the team out?" This is where I get confused. You have a player that loves being in the city, loves playing for the team, leads the team consistently in points every year, rarely gets injured, wins face-offs, works hard, back checks and never complains and you want him gone because of the business end of things…………..That makes no sense to me whatsoever. Now I understand the dollars and cents of professional sports, but since when did the fans begin rooting for that over loyalty? In today's sporting world, we are asked to be GM's not fans and some fans are actually buying into that? The notion that the fan would like to see Matt's gone to bail out Ferguson's mistakes (their former GM) seems out of this world. I for one would like to see the accountability come back into sports. Make the organization accountable for the mistakes made. Don't ask one of the few things that you have to be proud of to take on that accountability!!! I really do believe that if every team and every city had players like Mats, sports would suddenly become a lot more enjoyable to watch, I promise you that. For the day, be happy that you have a guy like Sundin, because guys like him are becoming non existent in sports today. Until next time, Colin #7