An excerpt from the Toronto Star (Garth Woolsey):

They most recently signed free agent forward Pavol Demitra to a two-year deal worth $8 million, pushing Vancouver’s commitments for 2008-09 to $47.19 million (the cap is $57.3 million).

“We’ve been patient (with Sundin) but we’re attempting to be as progressive as we can on every front,” Gillis said last week. “We communicated to Mats we were going to try to sign players who complement him. We’re continuing that line of communication. (Signing Demitra) should add to our team generally and hopefully it’s a positive step in that direction.”

Earlier this month, they traded for Buffalo forward Steve Bernier.

The Maple Leafs would like to see Mats back in blue and white. They’ve added Jeff Finger, Mikhail Grabovski, Jamal Mayers and Ryan Hollweg as part of their revamp. Whether those moves meet with Sundin’s approval, or if they might in any way affect his decision-making is open to debate. He must know as well as anyone that the Leafs are a long way from contending, even with him as part of the equation. No translation needed.