Gillis: Sundin decision on Thursday **UPDATE** Rangers offering half of what Canucks have on table?**UPDATE** Barry says not necessarily Thursday

From the Vancouver Sun:

“He is going to make a decision on Thursday about the final destination,” Gillis said following the Canucks’ practice at GM Place. “We reiterated our position and formalized our offer moving forward. We feel good about our team and where we sit and what we have to offer. We’ll see how it plays out.”

Then Gillis said something that I have been wondering about:

Sundin’s decision may have come earlier than Thursday if not for Wednesday night’s ceremony honouring former Canuck Trevor Linden.

“He is aware that we have a very important evening coming up tomorrow night and being the type of person he is — he has been a captain of a Canadian team for a long time — he is cognizant of the attention that an evening like tomorrow night gets and I think it has played into it a little bit,” Gillis said.

OK, so my problem with this is: If he is signing in Vancouver, then I can see why he'd wait until after the Linden ceremony. If he was already decided about signing in New York, then why wouldn't he have just come out and said it? So that management and players wouldn't be "bummed out" during the ceremony? His lack of verbage before the ceremony is what's (in many cases) deterring some Canucks fans' attention span, including mine.
Anyways, mercifully this saga is almost over.

Gillis on Team 1040 at 3:50 PM:
-Our team is well positioned.
-No blemishes or areas of concern with the team.
-Wants nothing to interefere with Linden night. Sundin camp understood.
-Don Taylor said he's optimistic. Optimistic? Gillis says "you guys can twist anything into something positive or negative."
-Gillis has sent Sundin DVD's of Canucks games showing Canucks' character and style of play.

UPDATE - 10:30 PM

Sportsnet has learned that New York's offer is less than half the deal the Canucks have tabled, which would leave Sundin well below fair market value. The Rangers are trying to avoid dismantling the team to make room for Sundin. That way, the Rangers would not be forced to trade some of their high-priced talent like Michal Rozsival, Wade Redden, Scott Gomez or Chris Drury. Otherwise, New York would have to free up US$2.8 million, as some reports suggest, to sign Sundin for the second half of the season.

Well doesn't that throw a twist in things... If this report is true, then we will know Sundin's true intentions when it comes to it being about the money or not. That will push his "morals" to the limit won't it? You know what his agent will say about this offer.
But if Sundin accepts THAT much fewer dollars to play in Manhattan.... it just adds to the damned problem this city has attracting superstar caliber players.

UPDATE: 11:58 PM

Oh jeezuz. Here we go again. From the Vancouver Sun (tip to Temujin):

“I did tell Mike that Thursday would be the earliest,” Barry told The Vancouver Sun in a telephone interview from Alberta later in the day. “I am not going to hold Mats to any kind of deadline. He has never been held to one before and he’s not going to be held to one now. He says he is going to try and make a decision by the end of this week.

“It may not be Thursday if he struggles with the decision. He is going to make up his mind this week, is what he has told us. But we are not going to put any deadline on him.”

I don't own a gun. Can someone please come to my place and shoot me dead right now please? Fuck it. I'll drink myself to death. Let me know in hell what Sundin decides.

I think this cat's reaction about matches mine right now:



T Tags: Mats+Sundin+decision+by+Thursday Mike+Gillis Trevor+Linden+ceremony