Well, Mats Sundin has finally found a home with the Vancouver Canucks after sitting out the pre-season and the first 30-odd games of the 2008-09 NHL season. It became pretty obvious that the big guy wasn't going to be returning to the Toronto Maple Leafs when he sold his house in Toronto earlier this year. How do you think he'll do with the Canucks over the course of the final 50 games? Will he be the "missing ingredient" the Canucks need to get their mitts on Lord Stanley's Mug? Will he be the same sort of lucky charm that Ray Bourque was for the Colorado Avalanche way back in 2000-01? I really don't know.
I know Sundin can be a force unto himself. Other times he becomes the Invisible Swede. He could get injured again, so he should probably ease into the lineup rather than be thrown in for 25 minutes a game. Sure he will be fine for a number of games, but even with the best training and practice, having missed 30 games to date, he is not ready to take a regular shift. The Canucks are currently 2nd in the Northeast Division, only one point behind the Calgary Flames, and they are 5 points up on 3rd place Minnesota, but the Wild have 2 games in hand.
And what of the die-hard Maple Leaf fans? The Leafs are doing better than expected, but when the chips are down no one expects them to compete seriously for a playoff spot, let alone the Cup itself. The Leafs let Sundin go without getting anything back except room in their salary cap. He refused to be traded last season which would have put the Leafs in a somewhat better position, but I don't think he should be faulted for not falling on his sword by accepting a trade. Sundin will do fine with Vancouver. I don't think they will get past the San Jose Sharks, even if the Canucks get that far in the playoffs. Sundin will be a great asset for the team, but all in all, I don't think this story will play out much when we get down to the nitty-gritty in the spring. If I'm wrong, what do you think? Feel free to comment, especially if you are a Sundin fan.
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