In A World of Sports

So news just broke yesterday of Sundin’s decision on whether or not to waive his no-trade clause and much to the chagrin of many Leaf fans, and I suppose fans of the teams in the running to acquire the long-time Toronto captain at the deadline, he is going to remain a Leaf. 

Well surely this must mean Doomsday for Leaf nation.  I am really looking forward to hear what the reaction will be.  I expect there to be a small percentage who will be o.k. with the decision, saying it’s his right, and he deserves to retire a Leaf if that’s his choice.  However, the vast majority of fans will frankly be pissed.  Mats Sundin was expected to step up and truly personify what other people believe that “C” on his chest means and agree to do what was best for the organisation and waive the no-trade, he didn’t. 

A lot of the blame will be pointed directly at Sundin, and I am looking forward to a few things in the wake of his announcement including the implications this news has on other teams at the deadline, the Leafs first home game after this news (March 4th vs. the Devils), and the offseason. 

So, first off, what does this mean to the other teams at the deadline?  Well Thrashers GM Don Waddell is smiling from ear to ear right now.  The Marian Hossa market has just become much more interesting and teams will be making much more tasty offers now that Sundin is officially off the table.  Ottawa and Montreal are considered the front-runners for his services and both were also interested in Sundin.  So the pressure on both teams to increase the attractiveness of their packages has increased because Sundin was the grand prize, Hossa was the consolation, and now the grand is gone.  Sundin taking himself off the market has increased the value of Hossa, Olli Jokinen, Brad Richards, Vaclav Prospal, among the other big chips on the market.  Tomorrow will be a good day for cell phone companies.

Another interesting aspect will be Sundin’s reception at the ACC when the Leafs return home on March 4th.  In a way I think Sundin got lucky here.  There will be a lot of really angry fans blaming Mats for what will amount to their team taking longer to rebuild and Mats mercifully has a couple days before facing the fans who will likely, and unjustly turn on him.  Personally, I think Mats could have waived the no-trade clause and helped rebuild this team; it would have been an interesting scenario, seeing him playing for a competing club, maybe winning a Cup and seeing what the Leafs would get in return.  I’m a little upset that I don’t get to see what kind of fruit that scenario would bear.  But by no means do I dislike the guy for it, or respect him less.  If Mats left, the Leafs would have tanked like Edmonton did after Ryan Smyth was traded, which would have been a good thing for the draft which the Leafs traditionally do terrible in anyway. 

However, this notion that Mats OWED it to the Leafs to waive the no-trade clause, that he is selfish for not doing it, that he is disloyal for not doing it is a joke.  Come on, Mats has endured a lot from these fans and this media.  Sundin has been questioned because he wasn’t Wendel when he came here, he was questioned because he wasn’t Canadian, his heart was questioned, his leadership was questioned, and he always stayed strong, and led the team.  There was a time not long ago that Leaf fans voted and thought Darcy Tucker was the better player.  Excuse me?  They said Tucker was more valuable to The Leafs than Sundin.  MLSE never surrounded Mats with talent, they never gave him a good team to lead, there were decent players around him at times, but never a team, never anything close to good enough to really be considered a championship contender.  Yet this team has enjoyed more success than it deserves because Mats has taken the mediocre talent around him, and lifted them to some great years for this franchise. 

Fans always feel betrayed when a player wants out of town, Toronto fans know this as good as anyone (see Vince Carter).  When you hear that a player wants out, at any cost, to the point that he (or she) will actually quit on the team, you are betrayed.  That is a player you call disloyal, and can boo.  But when Mats Sundin tells everyone he will not turn his back on his team, that he wants to stay here, he is going to be painted in the same light as VC by some for absolutely no good reason.  What’s worse is the way Mats had to endure this whole scenario.  The organisation fired John Ferguson Jr. (about 2 years too late mind you) and brought in a guy, Cliff Fletcher, whose only job was to convince Mats to waive his no trade clause.  To believe that Cliff was hired to do anything else, is foolish.  Anyone could have made a bunch of trades at the deadline but Fletcher’s relationship with Sundin was expected to give him an edge in convincing Mats to leave. Sure you expect him to make other deals too, but they hired him specifically to convince Mats to leave town. Imagine that, your organisation, the one you have given 13 years to, wants you out so bad, they hire a guy to get you to leave town.  What’s worse, is when that guy gets here, he ignores the elephant in the room until 5 days before they have to have an answer.  This whole scenario really speaks to the laughing stock that is the management/ownership group of the Leafs.  

So, The Leafs now have to look at their other options at the deadline and for the rest of the season.  Sundin isn’t going anywhere and will receive criticism for that choice despite the fact that Kaberle has already made his same desire to stay known days ago to little fanfare, and even much less deserving players of no-trade clauses, like Kubina and Tucker, have said the same with no measurable reaction from fans.  McCabe has said he will make a list and consider a trade but you have to realise there isn’t much of a market for this guy and he is likely not moving.  So Mats will get the blame for all five of those guys staying put instead of helping the team rebuild which is wrong.  But the mandate should stay the same, trade anyone and everyone you can at the deadline, build for the future, and maybe if they can field a REALLY shitty team next year, Kaberle, Kubina and Tucker will all want to leave.  Get rid of Antropov, Wellwood, Stajan, White, anyone, even their lone bright spot outside of Sundin, Vesa Toskala.  This team still needs to get much much worse before it can get any better.

Then comes the offseason.  What happens then with Sundin and the Leafs?  Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing Sundin retire as a Leaf, this season, leaving the NHL and going back to Sweden where he walks on water and either enjoying his millions in retirement or playing back home.  I think it is time both Sundin and the Leafs went their separate ways.  If Sundin returns, he alone can keep this team competitive enough to keep them away from potentially getting a couple #1 picks in a row and build like the Penguins did.  So seeing Sundin walk on his terms is how I would like this soap opera to end.  Having said that, if his desire is to keep playing in the NHL and specifically for The Leafs, should the Leafs resign him?  I don’t know.  I like Sundin a lot, I told my friend Sachin today that he is the only Leaf I really like, but to really rebuild this team through the draft it’s best he doesn’t come back, I just want it to be on his terms, not the organisation’s.  And I think he should walk away.  With his head high and leave this team that over the years has given him tough love and will undoubtedly now vilify him following his decision.  Seeing Sundin in another jersey, and having the Leafs get nothing in return would be too painful.  Retire a Leaf Mats.

Now, I guess the only thing left to consider is why Mats would want to stay.  With the organisation and the majority of its fans telling him he isn’t wanted.  Why would he show loyalty to the bitter end despite being shown none himself?  Mats will say all the right things, he will say he can’t see himself in another jersey other than the blue and white.  Mats will say it’s where he wants to play, and retire.  Mats will shoulder the backlash that will come with this decision but if you ask me, Mats is doing it because his dressing room needs him.  The players he leads don’t want him to go.  For Mats to look into the eyes of those guys and say “I’m leaving” weighed more heavily on his heart than anything he felt personally.  Mats isn’t staying for the organisation, he is staying for his team.  That’s why he wears the “C” in Toronto.  And that’s what any captain should do.