The Mats Sundin circus is finally over as the big Swede decides to join the Vancouver Canucks. I admit it, I was sure Markus Naslund had convinced his friend that the Garden is the greatest place to wind down your career, but I guess money talks more than Naslund. In the end the New York Rangers couldn't match the Canuck's big offer.
In his column for ESPN, Scott Burnside, who isn't very impressed with Sundin's career or possibly just pissed off that left Toronto, wrote the following.
"In all his time in the NHL, Sundin, 37, has managed to appear in zero Stanley Cup finals games. He has won no major awards. He was part of Sweden's gold-medal team in the 2006 Torino Olympics. But the Vancouver Canucks are likely paying him a prorated salary of $10 million to play in the NHL, not on the big ice surface of a once-every-four-years tournament."
Scott also wrote that Sundin is a fine hockey player, but the fact that he has never stepped up in the playoffs seems to overshadow the good things in his career. Mats Sundin is not Mark Messier, not many players, if any, are. Messier was an exceptional player and leader, the likes of we will most likely never see again. But is Sundin a good leader? Yes. Did he play on a crap team all these years? Yes.
When the Maple Leafs lose it is Mats Sundin's fault, yet when the Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup yearlier this year no one claimed this was Nicklas Lidstrom's doing. Don't get me wrong, I think Lidstrom is one of the best skaters to ever lace up, but he is also the captain of a great team. I would actually suggest that these two captains (although Sundin is no longer wears the C) are quite similar in their style of leadership, simply by leading by example in showing a tremendous work ethic.
Of course Mats Sundin's accomplishments would rank higher had he won trophies and the occational cup along the road of his otherwise impressive career, I can't help but sense a somewhat bitter tone in Burnside's critique. Was Sundin wrong to refuse to waive his no-trade clause last season? Perhaps. I admit it seems strange now as he joins a team halfway through the season because he feels they have a shot at the cup, which is exactly what he refused to do back then. On the other hand, this was the first time in his NHL career that he could choose where to play. Marian Hossa was in the same situation prior to this season and he also recieved massive critisism for his choice. I think a lot of people fail to realize how much it means to these players not to feel like a commodity.
I am just glad this whole thing is over.
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