An excerpt from TSN:
While Mats Sundin has remained quiet about his playing future, the general manager of the Vancouver Canucks has made it clear that Sundin is still wanted on the West Coast.
Canucks GM Mike Gillis spoke about the Sundin situation on the Team 1040 radio station in Vancouver on Thursday.
Gillis said that he was encouraged to continue an on-going dialoge with Sundin and that he is still confident that Sundin would accept the Canucks’ two-year, $20 million contract and that the 2010 Winter Olympics would be a possible incentive to convince Sundin.
“What we have talked about is that if he (Sundin) were to play a couple more seasons, he would be the captain of the defending team in the Olympics in the town that he plays in, which we believe to be unprecedented, and may never be available to a player ever again.” Gillis told the Team 1040. “So we have talked about his captaincy of the Swedish Olympic team, but we haven’t gone further than that at this point.”
The last statement was a direct response to reports from Vancouver that Gillis had offered Sundin the captaincy of the Canucks, something that Gillis has flatly denied.
While rumours continue to swirl that a deal with the Canucks may be imminent, Sundin’s agent, JP Barry says that Sundin remains will continue to take his time making a decision which will not happen until late July or early August.
“The Vancouver offer and the time that Mike (Gillis) has spent with Mats is important,” Barry told TSN. “But ultimately Mats has to decide to play and that is the first step here.”
Habster:
Mike Gillis using a correlation between the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic games and Mats Sundin playing in the host city is a pretty lame reason for convincing Sundin to sign with the Canucks………wow, is this guy serious!!!
If Sundin does decide to play in Vancouver which is his right as an UFA, you have to wonder about his hockey legacy and how people will view him by going to a non Stanley Cup contender with very little race track left in his great career.