JP Barry's comments on Team 1040

As expected, Barry didn't let many cats out of the bag during his interview with Pratt and Taylor this afternoon. But he did kind of narrow it down as to who Sundin may choose. I don't have the interview word-for-word, but I took notes. The following is as accurate as I could make it. -Barry mentioned that it was unfortunate that the Sundin story wouldn't stop. Sundin had been spending time with his family. When he got home, the story from DN was out that he had already signed with the Canucks. So he went on record to the other Swedish paper to set it straight. -The fact that Sundin needs more time to think remains. -Barry said that Sundin wants to be an impact player on a team and be at a top level on the team chooses and as well in the NHL. -Barry stated that there were other teams besides Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal that were telling the agent that they would drop players and make cap space in order to attain Sundin's services. He didn't mention any names. -Barry mentioned that Sundin is focussing on the offers from Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto. He likes Canada, eh? -Joe Nieuwendyk is trying to coax Sundin into playing with Toronto again. Joe and Mats are still great friends. Only problem there, is that the Leafs are rebuilding. Sundin would return to the Leafs out of loyalty. -Playing with the Sedins and the possibilty of representing Sweden in 2010 in Vancouver intrigues Sundin. -Sundin wants to be on a team that he himself can help win. Detroit it seemed was ruled out by the Sundin camp because they already had what it takes to win. That seems to be what Barry implied. -Sundin is going to decide whether to side with loyalty and play with the Leafs, or winning and pick another team. -Barry said that a reasonable timeline for Mats' decision will be at around August 1st. -Of course, Barry did say that money matters, but it matters to any athlete. Duh. Pratt and Taylor then interviwed Tony Gallagher, whom I tuned out immediately because the first thing he said is that the Leafs are going to make the playoffs next season because of Ron Wilson's run and gun coaching style. Piss off! What a tool. So there you have it. It looks like it's mostly down to Montreal and Vancouver. It seemed that Barry ruled out the Rangers. Vancouver seems the best fit now because 1. We don't currently have a captain and Mats could fill that role. We know from what Barry said that he likes to be the "difference-maker". 2. The Canucks are good enough to get into the playoffs already, and screw all of you who think otherwise. We barely missed last season because of injuries that took a toll. 3. Montreal already has a captain in Saku Koivu. You wanna talk about a Messier situation. How about Sundin strolls into Montreal and takes the "c" away from Saku? Don't think so. Like I've said over and over, I can't see Mats going to a rival team of the Leafs either. That would be crazy. 4. Show me the fucking money. Gillis has done that. Mike Milbury blasted the Canucks' offer sheet just before Barry went on the air, but who cares what Mad Mike thinks? He's fucking MAD! If I could put time in a bottle.... I'd fast forward to August 1st. T Tags: JP+Barry+interview+with+Team+1040 Mats+Sundin Canucks Leafs Canadiens no+Rangers no+Red+Wings

Sundin's agent JP Barry to guest on Team 1040 today at 5:20 pm PST.

Thanks to all the cruel people at CDC for this story. I'll try to cover it on paper as much as possible and post it a bit later. Expect a bunch of half-assed answers from Barry, as Sundin has not decided anything yet. Maybe, just maybe we could gain a touch of further insight on the mind of Mats from this upcoming interview. Team 1040 streams live here. T Tags: JP+Barry+on+Team+1040 Mats+Sundin Canucks coverage

Antoine Vermette to Canucks?

I am just posting this because Eklund isn't the only person speculating about this possible trade. Gillis may make a deal like this whether he lands Sundin or not, and I say: "go for it!" Vermette is getting nowhere with the Senators as far as a contract goes. But he sure as hell improved his offence in his contract year. 81 games played, 24 goals, 53 points, 4 power play goals, 3 shorthanded goals, and played an average of 17:35 per game. As you can see here, his icetime and stats have gone up ever since 2003 when he started in the NHL. Question is, which defenceman is Gillis going to surrender, Bieksa? He has 3 years left on his contract that pays him $4.25 million this coming season, and $3.5 per season the following 2 years. Ohlund? He will be playing in the final year of his contract that pays him $3.5 million per season. I'm sure a raise is coming there. Like a friend of mine said, defencemen are getting paid so much damned money in the offseason as free agents, that Ohlund could demand $6 million-plus. Sucky. Adiose. We'll see. Krajicek has 1 year left on his contract as well. Gillis has already hinted a couple weeks ago at a possible trade to acquire a top 6 forward. It's just a matter of time. T Tags: Antoine+Vermette+to+Canucks? trade Bieksa Ohlund Krajicek

Swedish Sundin poll has Mats returning to Leafs....BAH!!!

As reported by CBC, Swedish papre Aftonbladet has a poll up below any mats Sundin articles asking what the bald wonder is going to do. Over 32,000 votes have been cast. Where believes you Mats Sundin plays this autumn? Toronto (37.3%) Montreal (5.7%) New york Rangers (27.0%) Other (10.5%) Retires (19.5%) It must be something in the food they eat or the water they drink. Do you see the Rangers clearing cap space to sign this guy? Nope. And why would Sundin go back to a rebuilding Leafs team besides out of honor. I'm sure he wants to win. Funny how the Canucks aren't even on the list. Regardless, only 10% voted "other". T Tags: Mats+Sundin+poll where +will+he+play? Aftonbladet Leafs Canadiens Rangers Canucks

Canucks to hold 11th Annual State of The Franchise event

It will be on Wednesday July 23 from 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm. For the first time, the event will be streamed live on the Canucks TV video portal. More on the event here. T Tags: Vancouver+Canucks State+of+the+Franchise+event 2008 Mike+Gillis ownership

Wendel Clark and Doug Gilmour will have their banners raised this season

Clark will be honored on November 22 and Gilmour on January 31. Is there really any other 2 Leafs players that are considered more popular in Toronto over the past 25 or so years? In 608 games with the Leafs, Clark scored 260 goals and 441 points along with 1535 penalty minutes. Hard to think of a better forward in recent history. Only problem is that his reckless style shortened his life span in the NHL. Too bad. Clark is still one of my all-time faves. Who could forget his playoff performance in 1993 when he scored 10 goals and 20 points in 21 playoff games? How about his tussle with Marty McSorley after Marty decked Gilmour in the trolley tracks? Or how about his hat trick in Game 6 of that series to push the series to 7 games? Clark completely took over. What a beast. Check out this top-notch Clark tribute video. Doug Gilmour is my 2nd all-time fave player. In 393 games with the Leafs, Gilmour scored 131 goals, 321 assists and 452 points. That is 1.15 points-per-game. In 52 playoff games with Toronto, Dougie scored 17 goals, 70 assists and 87 points. That is a majorly impressive 1.67 points per game. Clutch. Don Cherry had a fitting tribute to Killer in one his earlier Rock Em Sock Em videos. I'll get into these guys more when they are actually honored. Being a Leafs fan through the 80's, I saw Wendel Clark be a shining spot on the club in the dire 80's and then through the better times after Fletcher acquired Gilmour in that raping trade with the Flames in 1992. That was a great team between 1992-94 especially. T Tags: Doug+Gilmour Wendel+Clark banners raised tribute Leafs

Mad Mike joins Satellite Hotstove

Milbury is a great addition to Satellite Hotstove. He doesn't mince words. Maybe he can beat some sense into those politically correct doofs like Ron MacLean in Mad Mike-fashion. They needed a bit of an controversial edge on the segment, and now they have it. Man, I would love to see Milbury throttle this guy. T Tags: Mike+Milbury+added+to+Satellite+Hotstove CBC

Sundin talks with Aftonbladet- Still Undecided

This was found and translated by a poster named Lugaid at the HF Boards: There has been speculation about that you could be waiting until Autumn? - No, I won't be doing that. If I decide to continue with hockey I'll make a decision in august, or maybe even in the end of this month. If I'm going to play it's gonna be the entire season, I want to be there from the beginning, when the training camp starts. Vancouver offered alot of money? - Yes, it's flattering and a fantastic offer. It's nice that a club thinks I have that level of competence. Does the money matter in a potential decision? You have enough, right? - If you're a professional hockeyplayer, the money does play a part in the gathered picture for a decision. But there's alot of other factors that play in too. If it had only been about the money I would have signed with Vancouver. Can you concider signing for the two years they offered? You have said earlier that you wanted to take one year at a time? - Yes, but it's pretty rare to be offered a two-year contract at my age. I haven't even thought so far, but of course it's flattering. Vancouver has said that it'd be an extra plus for you to play the 2010 olympics on home ice if you'd except their offer. - I'm really not sure that I'll play another olympic tournament. You should never say never, but it feels very far away. Is Toronto still an alternative? - Nothing's out of the picture. I got a very good offer from them too as well as from Montreal. But Vancouvers contract was in a league of its own if seen to the money. Toronto has been getting alot of new players and got rid of some others... - I haven't been following closely, but Joe Nieuwendyk has entered club management and he's a fantastic leader and a real winner. I think he can help alot in the process of building a team strong enough to fight for the Stanley Cup in the future. I think they can get a good team already this year. - And of course I feel alot for Toronto after thirteen seasons there. It feels like home. But we'll see. I haven't got as far as to thinking about teams yet. Are you surprised about the enormous interest for you? - Not sure about surprised. I was very happy with my season. And it's a nice recognition that so many have shown interest. What is it that has kept you from a decision wether to continue playing or not? - I want to feel like I can handle to recharge the batteries again for another long season and all that comes with it. Body feels OK? - Yeah, I've been kept away from long-term injuries fortunately. It's mostly small scale injuries that most players my age feel. My hip, a shoulder and a knee. What are you doing right now? - I'm just trying to enjoy the swedish summer. It's been pretty calm so far. I've been out to the swedish archipelago and up to Norrland for some fishing. Earliest in a week Sundin will make a decision about continuation or not. With it will come the definitive answer to where - or if - he'll play next season. (Link and pic from Aftonbladet article.) So there you have it. Mum's the word for Sundin right now. He has left us with no angle or preference as to what he'll do. Do you really think he hasn't thought about where he is going to play? Not likely. When you're sitting out on a lake with the line out waiting for the big one, you're at peace. It's at times like that when you think about how awesome BC is compared to Quebec or Ontario, Mats. Ontario is suburbanite hell, you know that. Montreal is a kickass city and a great place to play. But there will be a ton of pressure there. You don't want to eat cheese for a living do you Mats? You don't want to be pressured to learn a 3rd language do you? In BC, we are so laid back. We have the best pot in the world. We have superb mountainous scenery and some of the best fishing anywhere. Oh, and our team is better than those Easterners think. Sure, our 2008-09 schedule sucks, but the pot will take care of that! Forgive my sarcasm. I am past the point of caring from a personal standpoint on where Sundin ends up. It is kind of fun reporting it though. That Swedish paper DN really created a shitstorm and increased his hits by millions I'm sure. My opinion on where hMats plays and why has not swayed. T Tags: Mats+Sundin+still+undecided July+21 Canucks Leafs Canadiens interview Aftonbladet newspaper

Swedish newspaper DN's sources say Sundin will play in Vancouver (Updated: False report....DAMN!)

I don't know squat about this newspaper or its creds, but they posted a piece about Sundin today that I had to run through a translator. It reads as follows: Rangers wanted to have him, Detroit likewise. Probably half NHL also. But according to information to today's news has Mats Sundin now certain himself traveled to extend his career, in an entirely other klubb. He leaves Toronto, the ice hockey's capital, where he been bigger than the town's mayors, for Vancouver, where he becomes law friend with among the other brothers Sedin. A source to today's news says following about Sundins situation: - his agent in North america thanked no to KHL (the the Russian boozing era gang) with the justification that he is entirely clear for Vancouver. That he has typed on, why would he say so otherwise. He sheep of course a big sum money at a possible overgång here, the source says. Sundins agent Claes Elefalk permits also that Sundin and klubben has contact. - I spoke with Vancouver at the end yesterday (Friday) but that he would be clear is more than I know in that case, he says to DN direct from his vacation. - I knew not even that he had taken beslutet to continue to play ice hockey, he continues. How hot is Vancouver? - they are extremely hot. They want to have him. Mats Sundin is an of Swedish ice hockey bigest heroes over time. He has, along with Peter Forsberg, been the the biggest sign window for they blue and yellow during the last 15 years. Majority believed that he never would leave Toronto, where he was law captain in 13 years, and instead complete the career there. But the exclusive information that DN taken part of do now current that he continues his fantastic career, and that he does it in the Swede team Vancouver. DN has in vain applied for Mats Sundin for a comment. Haha, "Swede team Vancouver"??? Nice. I'll search more Swedish papers to see if there is anymore on this. No North American news sites are saying anything yet. So who really knows how much validity this article holds. Hat tip to the folks at CDC for finding the article. UPDATE (11:00 pm): Another major Swedish paper, Aftonbladet has the same story up: "Sundin Ready for Vancouver" Mats Sundin is alleged to have decided - leaving Toronto "They (Canucks) are extremely hot." Strange translation. But "hot" means "extremely interested" as mentioned above in the previous paper's translation. UPDATE (2:27 am): Another link to a different Swedish paper can be found here. So what is being reported, basically, whether true or false, is that DN's sources are saying that Sundin's North American agent has kindly told the Russian Superleague that Sundin is not interested in playing there because he is ready to sign in Vancouver. Sundin's agent in Sweden, Claes Elefalk, said that he talked to the Canucks late Friday but he would not confirm that a deal has been completed. He told DN that he wasn't aware that Sundin was going to resume playing. So what the hell? You can't believe everything you read, just yet. This deal is not done yet. But we do know they are having serious discussions, and Gillis is practically stalking poor Mats! Ha! UPDATE (10:00 AM): It didn't take too long for this rumor to get squashed. Sundin's rep Elefalk has gone on record saying that the article in DN is completely false. He apparently mentioned earlier this morning that Dusan Umicevic, a reporter from DN, had contacted him for a quote. Elefalk said the Sundin rumor was false yet DN published it anyway. Well, I can't say I'm totally suprised. There was a lot of strange behaviour around the incident. Aftonbladet had the story up on their news site and then pulled it last night. Elefalk was not not aware that Sundin had decided to play even after the story broke out. You'd think he would know. Ah well. Don't lose hope, folks. Mats could come to Van still. I just think that his agent's quote about when he would make a decision (late July at the earliest) still rings true no matter what we may hear in between. UPDATE (8:00 PM) Take this with a grain of salt as well, but Eklund may have a bit of a point here. ....here's why I feel we need to take note of the papers in Europe. They are on a pretty damn good streak right now. Jagr was to Omsk, Straka to Czech, Demitra to Van, and others have all broken first on foreign papers, been denied by player or agent, and inevitably came to fruition. I will say this: TSN is denying this and that is interesting, simply because every outlet has teams it is more tied-in with than others, and TSN has always had a beat on Vancouver. However, this is a new Vancouver regime... For a Swedish paper to say that Mats to Vancouver is a done deal is actually really telling. This is not a small potatoes story over there. The agent's denial is a given, so I take nothing from that. The Swedes and Fins have their own little network. They all talk to each other, so this report is extremely curious. -Sure, we're talking about a country as small as Sweden. You could fit more than 2 Swedens into British Columbia alone. People find out shit there. You don't have to go too far to find it. -I also agree that the agent's denial is possibly a given. HArd to say though. But we still won't get any official answers from Sundin for several weeks yet. Mats+Sundin+to+play+in+Vancouver Swedish+newspaper DN rumor

Break.com clips of the week: The One-Man Band and The Musical Nutshot

There are several of these types of videos out there, but this is one of the best I've seen. Reminds me of the Beastie Boys' sound. This guy, David Meshow, uses his mouth to put together 4 musical parts: drums (beatbox), bass, guitar and solo. Then he meshes them all together to form a one-man band clip. Gotta have good timing for this kind of shit. The One Man Band - Watch more free videos Speaking of music, not only is the next clip painful, but listen to the sequence of events as they happen. Perfect rhythmic fashion. All at the expense of an idiot's balls and brainless head. Nutshot Followed By Painful Faceplant - Watch more free videos T Tags: Break.com+videos One-man+band nutshot+faceplant

Jason Krog contract 'suspended'

So Krog is not a Canuck yet, technically. The IIHF has suspended the contracts of Krog, Alex Radulov, newly drafted Nikita Filatov and Viktor Tikhonov, Tomas Mojzis and Fedor Fedorov pending reviews of their deals with their respective clubs. All 6 players are transfering between the Russian Continental Hockey League and the NHL, within which there is no tranfer deal done yet. Radulov really got the ball rolling on this one when he reportedly signed a deal with a team in the Russian League but he was still under contract with the Nashville Predators. Apparently Jason Krog was signed by the Vancouver Canucks after he reportedly agreed to a deal to play in the KHL Russian League. I was unaware of that. So the battle begins. T Tags: IIHF+suspends+contracts KHL NHL NHLPA Radulaov Jason+Krog

.....and screw the Canadiens too

The previous post was written with some spiced rum in my veins. Today I stand by my opinion. Here is another example of something said that bugs me, and unfortunately it comes from my fave online analyst Spector. As I've said before, if it all about the money, (Mats Sundin) will sign with Vancouver. If it's about familiarity, he'll return to the Maple Leafs. If it's about playing for a potential Cup contender, he'll sign with Montreal. Those are the only teams who appear to have a legitimate shot at signing him. That statement in itself is slanderous to a Canucks team that really isn't that bad. I've already ranted about the new forwards we have and their potential. Now what team in the League wouldn't want the goaltender and depth on defence that Vancouver has? It's awesome to say the least. The Canucks are not dead. They have a chance to make some noise with one of the best goalies in the world, the deep defence core and revived offence. All this talk about the Canadiens being a serious contender revolves around one thing in particular: Carey Price. What I saw late last season was Canadiens management giving the young Price the vote of confidence by trading away Huet at the deadline. And what happened to Price in the playoffs? Well let's just say it was not very Cam Ward-like from the Hurricanes' Cup run a couple years ago. Will Price become the consistent #1 guy? Pressure's on, kid. T Tags: Sundin Canadiens Oilers Leafs Carey+Price Habs+suck