Hockey Trades, Rumors & SigningsThe NHL always has a very active trading rumor-mill. Who is the next player to be shipped out? And who will be the next big free agent signing? Discuss NHL trade rumors and free agents.
Mats doesn't need a line mate to put up a point per game **** toss him wellwood and Kesler and hes the only center in the league who still capable of a ppg
__________________
I don't understand Oiler fans sometimes. I guess you try to put a brave face on, but geez. Oiler fans should be pissed, and they should be sick and tired of being a farm team for the rest of the league.
- gordfish
Mats doesn't need a line mate to put up a point per game **** toss him wellwood and Kesler and hes the only center in the league who still capable of a ppg
I guess we'll see if Mats wants to win a Cup or if he's in for the money. What I mean by that is in Montreal, he'd be playing with Andrei Kostitsyn and Alex Kovalev instead, and the team finished first in the East, and they've already added Alex Tanguay to the mix. A lot closer to a Cup I'd say.
__________________ "Too bad for Mats, he could have been playing here" ~ Robert Lang.
I guess we'll see if Mats wants to win a Cup or if he's in for the money. What I mean by that is in Montreal, he'd be playing with Andrei Kostitsyn and Alex Kovalev instead, and the team finished first in the East, and they've already added Alex Tanguay to the mix. A lot closer to a Cup I'd say.
Well if you'ld take off those rose colored bias glasses you borrowed from Rusty , then you'ld see things like the rest of us.
How'd the Habs playing over their heads work out for them in the playoffs.?
Well if you'ld take off those rose colored bias glasses you borrowed from Rusty , then you'ld see things like the rest of us.
How'd the Habs playing over their heads work out for them in the playoffs.?
Part of the learning curve Doug. Part of the learning curve... This team is not without reminding me of the old Ottawa Senators when they started turning the corner. We'll see...
And Rusty's glasses are blue!
__________________ "Too bad for Mats, he could have been playing here" ~ Robert Lang.
First of all, there is a big difference between what was happening pre-lockout and what is happening now.
Pre-lockout, you had teams spending upwards of 80 million on their payroll while there were an equal number of teams that couldn't afford to spend 20 million. With a ceiling of 57 and a floor of 41 combined with revenue sharing, the disparity has been closed significantly. You can't just buy up ALL the best talent now. And if you do choose to spend 10 or a 11 million on one player, you take your chances. A full fifth of your cap space given to one player can have dire consequences to both your team, and as a GM, your job.
So there is a big difference between what is going on now and what was going on in 2002. The people that want us to believe the sky is falling would do well to stop and give the whole situation a really good think.
Now, on the offer to Mats, which has appeared to have turned down. What's the difference between paying him 20 mil over 2 that includes half of that in signing bonuses and paying him 5 mil over 4 years? He'll only be 41 in four years, and 5 mil per would still be a bargain.
Gillis did the smart thing. He put a big offer in front of Mats in the hopes that it would pull him away from the Habs, Leafs, Wings and Rangers. He has the cap space to do it, and Sundin would have the right fit in Vancouver over the term of the deal.
Take a look at Vancouver's salary commitments for 09 / 10. They have even more cap space available. Getting Sundin would have made them a lot better right away and would have gone a long way to convincing Luongo that Gillis is prepared to do what it takes to win.
Sundin fit the need that we have here in Vancouver perfectly, and I would have been thrilled to have him here at 20 million over 2 years. It's not like we would have been locked into an 8 to 11 mil per contract for 8 to 10 years.
This was a smart move by Gillis, and I'm really pissed off at Mats for not making his intentions to spend the summer contemplating retirement clear before July 1. We wasted a very important day waiting for his answer. Thanks for screwing us over, Mats. Jag-off.
Now, on the offer to Mats, which has appeared to have turned down. What's the difference between paying him 20 mil over 2 that includes half of that in signing bonuses and paying him 5 mil over 4 years? He'll only be 41 in four years, and 5 mil per would still be a bargain.
The difference is a cap hit of $10 million for two years as opposed to a cap hit of $5 million over 4 years. Also remember that Sundin falls in the category of UFAs of players over the age of 35, which means that if he chose to retire at any point during his contract, the cap hit stays with the team. Four years would be a huge gamble for a player his age.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gordfish
Gillis did the smart thing. He put a big offer in front of Mats in the hopes that it would pull him away from the Habs, Leafs, Wings and Rangers. He has the cap space to do it, and Sundin would have the right fit in Vancouver over the term of the deal.
I don't know about the smart move comment, as I don't think that Sundin is going to bring the Cup to Vancouver, not at that age as the Canucks have way too many holes to fill at the top 6 forwards position. If he was 28-29 maybe, but not at 37. He'd be perfect as a quality depth veteran.
Also, the Wings, Rangers and Habs wouldn't have to give as much as Vancouver to match the offer as Sundin has said that he'd rather stay in the East and that he wants to win a Cup. The Wings are in the Western conference but Detroit is fairly close to Toronto. Some could argue that Montreal and New York are a lot closer to being a contender than the Canucks are.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gordfish
This was a smart move by Gillis, and I'm really pissed off at Mats for not making his intentions to spend the summer contemplating retirement clear before July 1. We wasted a very important day waiting for his answer. Thanks for screwing us over, Mats. Jag-off.
Again, not so sure about the smart move comment as I think that Gillis would improve the team more in signing two $5 million or three $3.3 million forwards to plug the holes in the top 6 forwards, especially with a big part of their offense possibly gone in Naslund.
I do agree with you though that Sundin should make up his mind or at least set a date in fairness to the teams hoping to land him.
__________________ "Too bad for Mats, he could have been playing here" ~ Robert Lang.
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Messier as I see a bit of a parallel however I think Mats has more left in the tank than Messier did.
The Canucks can afford it(lots of cap space) and with their defence and Goalie a top centre(albeit an old one) could very well take them deep in the playoffs. Mats has been a truly great leader of some mediocre Leaf squads. Just look at how often he has scored clutch goals. I don't have the stats in front of me but I know a large proportion of his goals are scored in the 3rd period.
So far Mats has been noncommittal at best and it appears he will decline it. From Gillis' persepctive it is a win/win. If he doesn't sign no one can say that there was no legitmate attempt to land a big fish and if he does sign the Canucks will be a better team. As gordfish said it might improve the Canucks chances at keeping Luongo here for longer so I really don't see the downside.
He would instantly be the captain with zero argument from me.
__________________
If we claim we are without sin then we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our life
I've changed the title of this thread. We can discuss here any new rumours about Sundin's decision.
Here are two new articles:
Canadiens still in hunt for Sundin says GM
Bob Gainey is not ruling out the chance of landing prized free agent Mats Sundin by the end of the summer.
But not for the whopping $10 million US per season the Vancouver Canucks were offering the longtime Maple Leafs captain earlier this week.
"It's still possible he could come to Montreal but not for (that price)," the Montreal Canadiens general manager said during a news conference in Montreal last night.
Just one day after Sundin politely informed those handful of teams willing to throw gobs of money at him that he is not yet ready to make a decision concerning his future, Gainey told reporters that he very much understood the stance being taken by the veteran Swede.
"We had almost a two-week window to negotiate exclusively with him and it became obvious that he wants and needs to be 100% if he wants to go through 100 games, if you include playoffs," Gainey said.
"Having been a player, I respect that."
Asked if he was bitter at not being able to come to an agreement with Sundin despite his best efforts, Gainey said no.
"I would be a lot more disappointed if he had came to Montreal and would not have been ready to sacrifice 100%" Gainey said.
The addition of Sundin would have been the icing on the birthday cake for the Habs, who had hoped the big Swede would have been the centrepiece for the team's 100th anniversary season of 2008-09.
SCENE & HEARD: Mike Penny, director of pro scouting with the Toronto Maple Leafs, isn't convinced Mats Sundin has written Vancouver off as a destination to wind down his career.
"He told us he's not prepared to make a decision on playing next year for at least a month," Penny says. "But that was before any mention of $20 million over two years was in the works. Do I think he'd be interested in the Canucks' offer? Yes, I do." Canucks' GM Mike Gillis reportedly spoke with Sundin one-on-one as recently as Thursday.
The Mats Sundin watch...
Linear Mode
