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Make Mats Pay To Stay
by Paul on 02/19/08 at 08:39 PM ET
Comments (9)
from Scott Burnside of ESPN,
At some point between now and next Tuesday, Maple Leafs interim GM Cliff Fletcher will go to captain Mats Sundin on bended knee and ask him in the nicest possible way to waive his no-trade clause so Toronto can begin the long task of rebuilding its rotted vessel.
No one knows what Sundin will say when this offer is presented to him, but the Leafs’ course of action should be very clear if he maintains his stated position that he has no intention of leaving Toronto.
First, Fletcher should immediately strip Sundin of the captain’s “C”. Then, Fletcher should make it very clear he will not re-sign the unrestricted free agent this summer or strongly recommend to the next full-time GM that Sundin not be re-signed.
After all, what kind of role model is Sundin if he refuses to commit the ultimate act of leadership by helping the team he professes to love get better?
Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Mats+Sundin,
Comments
The more I hear stuff like this the more I want Sundin to stay until the end of the season and, if they try to punish him for not doing what they want him to, offer himself up for auction to the highest bidder in the offseason - he chooses exactly where he wants to go, regardless of whether or not they had the assets to interest the Leafs, and Toronto gets nothing in return. He has lived up to his end of the bargain - I have no sympathy for the organization trying to weasel out because now the agreement has become inconvenient.
Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 02/19/08 at 09:00 PM ET
Yet another media hit job on a player who - gasp! - won’t waive his clause “for the good of the team” simply because he’s living up to his end of the bargain.
And if Sundin were asking to leave, they’d vilify him for being a rat deserting a sinking ship and turning his back on his loyal Leafs fans.
Burnside is usually better than this. What a disappointment.
Posted by Lyle Richardson from Charlottetown, PEI, Canada on 02/19/08 at 09:17 PM ET
Well if I were a Toronto player and Kaberle walked through the door after the trade deadline I’d be pissed, no outraged, that he didn’t take the first chance to bolt on the team.
Posted by Django on 02/19/08 at 09:39 PM ET
This sort of ties into this…
from William Houston of the Globe and Mail…
A hockey broadcaster says the refusal of Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Tomas Kaberle to waive his no-trade clause suggests complacency.
“All this stuff about how tough it is to play in Toronto is a bunch of malarkey,” he said. “If it was so tough to play in Toronto, why wouldn’t a guy, especially on a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in three years, waive his no-trade?
Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 02/19/08 at 10:02 PM ET
Someone should strip this moron of his ability to publish articles. Complete crap!
Posted by Mac from Canada on 02/20/08 at 05:54 AM ET
Usually when I read something that stoopid it has Stan Fischlers byline on it!
Posted by dougie on 02/20/08 at 09:17 AM ET
Don’t forget, Burnside also wrote a article last year suggesting that kicking pucks into the net with your skates as well as batting pucks into the net with a glove should stand as legitimate goals as a way to increase offense.
Just because you are given the title as a hockey “expert” does not make it so.
Posted by dash_pinched on 02/20/08 at 10:23 AM ET
Dammit. Now the man’s being hated on for sticking with them through the worst of times.
Burnside’s a better writer than this juvenile scratch.
Posted by SYF from Las Vegas, NV on 02/20/08 at 02:25 PM ET
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Stripping Mats of the C is the stupidest thing I’ve ever read. And I read the Toronto Sun for most of my life!
Posted by Karina on 02/19/08 at 08:59 PM ET