Straight Ahead, No More Stopping

Call it Liberation Day. Liberation, that is, from the contagious nonsense that going backwards can produce forward momentum.

It's been the scourge of Toronto in 2008. First Cliff Fletcher, then Don Matthews, then Cito Gaston, then Paul Beeston.

Matthews was a complete disaster, and one suspects that when it's time for Gaston and Beeston to move out and on again, they won't have made the Blue Jays even a shadow of what they used to be.

Fletcher? Well, we've explained how that was at best a neutral exercise for the Maple Leafs, and at worst a negative sidetrack, with pointless and wasteful trading away of draft picks.

Indeed, on his own the Silver Fox tried to do an everything-old-is-new-again trick, bringing back 41-year-old netminder Curtis Joseph in the same way Punch Imlach, in his second go-round, brought back Carl Brewer.

Joseph, brought in as a favour to friends while Scott Clemmensen was dumped, has been so bad that Ron Wilson didn't even want to talk about him last night. Watching him kneeling on the goal line last night as Phil Kessel snapped a puck over his shoulder was just, well, unfortunate to watch.

Right now, his main value seems to be as that of a brake whenever the team starts to experience more than a game or two of success and threatens to pull too far ahead of Tampa and other eastern doormats.

The final and official departure of Mats Sundin, then, should end all this silliness once and for all, at least as far as the Leafs go. I was still getting emails this week from people wondering if maybe, just maybe the Leafs might yet sign him, or do some sort of sign-and-trade magic.

Well, it's over. Time to move on. Brian Burke did the second he arrived in town.

(Of course, we may not have actually seen the very last of Sundin as a Leaf. No team likes to brings former stalwarts back like the Leafs. Wendel Clark was traded and came back. Ditto for Doug Gilmour, once as a player and once as an executive/minor league coach. Darryl Sitter eventually joined the front office. Rick Vaive worked for Leafs TV. So it would be unwise to totally rule out one more jaunt in blue-and-white for Sundin someday.)

There's no point even discussing Sundin anymore from a Leaf point-of-view. This is now about Luke Schenn and rebuilding and finding ways to get more Schenns, not finding a way to get back to the playoffs as soon as possible.

It was that sort of thinking that got the Leafs into the mess in which they're currently locked.

Still, it's remarkable to hear people accuse Sundin of hypocrisy and disloyalty as he exits. He was as loyal to the Leafs as they ever were to him. This was a team that tried to browbeat him into waiving the very same no-trade provisions it had given him, and yet standing by the terms of his contract was interpreted as treason by some.

And hypocrisy? There are those who say that because Sundin said last season he didn't want to be a rental and join a new team partway through the season means his decision to join the Canucks now is hypocritical.

Not even close. First of all, what one of us out there might have thought one way about their job situation last February, and very differently today? Adults change their minds. Working people change their minds. Millionaire athletes change their minds.

That doesn't make it hypocrisy.

Moreover, given that the Canucks have left open cap room specifically earmarked for Sundin since the summer, you could argue that team has been waiting for him all along, as though he was a shadow teammate.

If he wins a Cup in Vancouver, good for him and good for them. Let's face it, there's a long history of Leaf players going on to great team or individual success after leaving the club, from Gerry Cheevers to Bernie Parent to Randy Carlyle to Doug Jarvis to Craig Muni to Larry Murphy to Dave Andreychuk. If Sundin has the ultimate success with the Canucks, it certainly doesn't alter Leaf history.

It should, however, help make the way of the future abundantly clear to anyone who seriously believed this year's team could make post-season play or that this mess could be fixed quickly by Burke.

The absence of any player who could yet be designated as a successor to Sundin as captain should make it crystal clear to one and all that this team is one step ahead of an expansion outfit.

This is going to take two or three years of pain, pain that could be worth it if good decisions are made and patience is exercised. By the March trade deadline, well-known Leafs (Nik Antropov, Nik Ponikarovsky, pehaps Tomas Kaberle) will be gone, and new prospects and picks will have been acquired.

Given a choice between a 37-year-old Sundin and a new management team headed by Burke, sensible people would have chosen Burke every day and twice on Sunday. But having Sundin linger in his indecision left a scent of hesitation in the air.

No longer. Liberation from old thinking should be gone for good.

Hopefully, most people won't choose to diss Sundin now that's he's definitely gone. He was durable and effective for all of the years he was in Toronto, a pleasure to deal with from a media point of view and a captain who truly cared about his teammates.

He's one of the top five Leaf players of the post-expansion era, and one of the classiest athletes to grace this city in its history. He was a throwback to the days of Apps and Kennedy, a humble, unassuming athlete who never blamed a teammate or sought controversy and notoriety ahead of the pursuit of team goals.

Praise the athletic memory of this man. We were lucky to have him.

Comments

[unclephil12]

I'm not sure how the Leafs "browbeat" Sundin in an attempt to get him to waive his no trade. They simply asked him to waive it. Many teams ask their no trade players to waive. No one should blame the Leafs for asking either. As Damien says, Sundin is entitled to change his mind when the situation changes, the team should also be entitled to change its mind too in asking the player to waive. The situation for the Leafs was way different from the time when they signed him to the time of the trade deadline after the season went south.

[Moe Green]

What about the fans?

Over the past few months I have read much considered opinion on how Mats Sundin owed the Toronto Maple Leafs nothing. Really, nothing? Only in this upside down world could sportwriters agree that there was nothiong owed. Mats made tens of millions or dollars in Toronto. He played a decent game of hockey for the money. That's it, just hockey. Mats owes Toronto and the Leafs everything. Sure he could have played for another team and then he would have owed them. Not the management or the ownership you understand, but the team and the city. They are entirely different things. The owners and management of the team owe the fans the same debt.

[Mo Green]

Hypocrisy?

Maybe not, but look at it this way. Sure adults change their mind and no it's not necessarily hypocrisy. But what it definitely is not is a concern for the team or its fans. Mats cared about Toronto and the Leafs to the extent that it suited his needs. When he had the opportunity to do something really special for the team and then even return to it the very next season he didn't do it. Say what you will about Mats, but he really only payed lip-service to caring about the team or this city. In that sense, he was no different than any pro athlete in sports. No better, no worse - certainly nothing special.

[Mo Green]

Yes and no...

Was Sundin a great Leaf? Sure, as far as it goes. The Leafs have honestly never had a lot of truly "great" players. They had stars, but rarely superstars. Mats was no exception: very good, but not great. Look at Antropov. They said he would suffer not having Mats to dish to him. Clearly Antropov is the same player without Mats and may even match Mats' goal totals this season. Just remember his 20 game goal-less streak to end the season, and a playoff run a couple of years ago. Can you imagine such a thing from Ovechkin or Crosby?

Mats didn't owe the organization anything I guess, they were/are scum, but in my mind he owed this city a lot. You and the press may argue that he was a gent' and a great guy with the media. Well at his salary and position would you expect anything less? Dickwads like McCabe excluded, what team leader on any team behaved badly or wer somehow "lesser" leaders than Mats Sundin?

I'll miss big Mats as a player and I wish him well in Vancouver. In fact I hope he gets his jewellery with the Nucks. Don't ever forget that this man is a multi-trillionaire and it has always been all about Mats. He had to meditate for months for himself, not the team or teams that pursued him. His elevation in the marketplace let him dilly-dally to his heart's content and he only came back to play on his terms. Admirable? Not really. As fans You gotta believe that if Mats really cared about a cup, it was a secondary consideration along the lines of a new pinkie ring or stylish new hat. Great players live and die with their teams, clearly Mats is, and always has been, driven by only one thing - what's good for Mats.

[Geoff Read]

Great piece. You couldn't be more right, on every level. Why some people consider Sundin a traitor when it was the organization that treated him like garbage last year is beyond me. The guy has been honest and upfront throughout this free agency process. He's classy and still a front-line player. Toronto fans should wish him the best (as this Montreal fan does even though he jilted the Canadiens this summer!).

[Tom]

Well said Damien!

[John Richardson]

Where does this nonsense come from that Mats owed the Leafs or the city anything?

He was a dutiful and longstanding employee of the team, one that wanted to trade him last season for assets. To MLSE,despite their corporate weaselspeak, he was a commodity, nothing more, nothing less.

Given the sorry state of the team right now, I'd say that the absence of Mats exposes the bankruptcy and incompetence of the organization.

Remember, folks, this is the same crew that had a "1,000th NHL Game Played" ceremony for that disingenuous fraud Tie Domi

[Ian]

Sundin will win squat in Vancouver. They are only still marginally better, and they still are not in Detroit or San Jose's league. They will get to round 2 and then that will be it for them. Sundin makes it seem like he wants to win a cup, but him going to Vancouver proves that he is still pushing for more money. He was great here, he will do well there, but he will still never win a cup and until he does, he should NOT go into the hall of fame.

[Sid]

Mats was one of the greatest players to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He owes this city and fans nothing more then he has given us in the last 13-14 years. If we want to play the blame game, lets focus on MLSE, better yet Richard Peddie and the gang of teachers board members that have screwed this team and organization with their greed and inadequate business decesions. Mats was never given the opportunity to truely shine since he was never a given a proper and competitive team to play with. One person can only do so much; and he did. Mats broke most leaf records. That shows great skill and competence, especially when playing for the unskilled Maple Leafs that were built into a tough competitive squad. Mats is not greedy like people are labelling him to be. If you were in his shoes, true greed would show. Mats didn't sign a 20 million 2 year deal. We live in a world were money talks and BS walks.

Mats, I would like to thank you for your great service to the Toronto Maple Leafs. You made a better and stronger Leaf fan through the rough times. You showed great skill, patience and leadership. Although we were not honoured and graced with Lord Stanley's Mug.. you truely deserve to have your name imprinted on Lord Stanley. I hope Vancouver brings you the last and final accomplishment every great player searches for. Mats, thank you and god bless... You are one of the best and will always be in my eyes..

PS: all you jealous leaf fans critizing Mats, please check your facts, and know that MLSE is the reason Mats is gone...at the end of the day, a team player must also ensure his own needs are met... Richard Peddie, I hope you crock...

[William Young]

Hey Moe Green,

What does he owe us? He is a hockey player, and yes a great one. He spent the best years of his career here, surrounded by players like Jonas Hoglund and denied his chance to win something. I don't feel like he owes me anything. In fact, I owe him for 13 great years of hockey in this city.

How would you feel if you were changing jobs from a poorly run company to a much better opportunity and your bosses and co-workers told you that you owed it to them to stay? In my analogy the bosses is management and the co-workers are the fans. You'd laugh at them.

Damien's last two paragraphs say it all:

He's one of the top five Leaf players of the post-expansion era, and one of the classiest athletes to grace this city in its history.

Praise the man's athletic memory. We were lucky to have him.

[Brian Walsh]

Damien....I believe this is your best commentary ever. I have been reading your stuff for a long time, and still do even though I am transplanted to the hockey twilight zone of Phoenix.
I had the pleasure of saying hello to Mats while he was on rollerblades on the lakeshore years ago. He was without a doubt the most humble and regular guy athlete I have ever met, and I have met a few.
Toronto was extremely lucky to just get a person of this caliber..Think about it for a minute, Quiet and humble, professional and hard working. The big Sweed made me proud to be a Leaf fan, and proud to be a part of a city that had guys like this as a sports leader/hero for all the kids to witness.
He moves on like everything else in life. One thing we know is things/people change in Sports at an alarming pace, but for a nice chunk of time we got to all experience the class of this diamond in the rough... a shining example of what a Professional athlete can be....Good Luck Mats.

[Dr. Phil]

Leaf fans are pathetic. Once the team is beyond any real (or should I say imaginary) hope of making it to the playoffs, they blame one of the greatest players in the organization's history. Mats Sundin is a class act and he would have fallen on his sword for the team (he has many times). There is no respect in this city for anybody. If you think the Leafs are underperforming, don't buy tickets, watch the games, or buy the merchandise. Don't blame the one player who foolishly cared for the team, its fans, and the city.

[Peter Fletcher]

Agree with Mr. Read - great piece! Mats was as classy an athlete as ever played for any Toronto team in any sport. He was a model captain always meeting the media post game even when his team put in a dismal performance (and there were plenty of nights like that). He never complained about the stiffs he was forced to play with. What I enjoyed most about Mats was that he always had fun playing the game. Canuck fans now get to enjoy first hand that infectious smile when Mats scores. Unfortunately, there will be fans at the next Canucks game in Toronto who will boo a great captain and a good hockey player just as they did when Darryl Sittler played his first game at MLG with the Flyers. The "fans" that boo Mats are Toronto Maple Leaf fans, they are not hockey fans and they deserve 40+ years without Stanley - a hockey fan first, a Leaf fan (who went to three Stanley Cup parades in Toronto!)second.

[smokey]

It is disappointing to see yet another Leaf captain not finish his career with the Leafs. Mats was for sure the best of the best and I personally wish he would have retired if it was not possible to finish with the Leafs. However, Mats always gave his best and it is ridiculous to hear any suggestion of disloyalty. I do hope he can play well with the Canucks as I do wonder why it has taken him so long to decide if he even wanted to play and physically, you ahve to wonder at his age if he can still play at his expectant level of play.

Regardless, I hope all Leaf fans give him a standing ovation in February at the ACC.

[Sam]

Sundin owes what to the Leafs? The Leafs paid him to PLAY, not to sit and do nothing. The Leafs didn't do anything exceptional for Sundin other than pay him his salary like any other team does. Oh wow, an employer pays an employee, what a concept right? Why does Sundin have to thank the Leafs for his fortune? Did the Leafs offer him something no other team would have? You gotta be kidding me ... some fans have no logic.

[Adam Zanatta]

I don't care what all the Leaf huggers in Leaf nation say about Mats...his legacy is forever tarnished by his selfishness and unwillingness to to help out a franchise and fanbase that loved and supported him despite his inability to bring Stanley home. This issue stinks, period and no amount of whitewash will ever eliminate this stain on his legacy.

Ray Bourque was a special leader, a hero (note the similar circumstances). Youtube the moment Sakic hands him the cup...

We need to put a 'C' on someone who understands that being a leader means that your decisions are made in the context of your team and not yourself. Mats put himself ahead of the team and the fans...that makes him a poor leader...Period.

[michim]

I completely agree. I think it's ridiculous that anyone could accuse Sundin of hypocrisy. The guy faced the media day in and day out and at times, took a beating, when the Leafs brass were sitting on their butts doing nothing to try and get the Leafs some decent players so that they could make the playoffs. He always talked about how much he loved Toronto and the people and made it clear that he wanted to stay in Toronto. I don't think keeping him around would have been good for Toronto or Mats. I think most normal, sane people would wish him well in Vancouver and thank him for all the years he spent in Toronto.

[Ryan]

Great article damien..... well said

[skeptacally]

damian,

perhaps this would be better suited to the weekly mailbag, but...

there is all of this talk about building around luke schenn -- talk that i see as being a bit inflated in comparison to the future worth of the kid.

scouts tell us, repeatedly, that schenn does not possess, and is unlike to ever develop an offensive side to his game.

this presents a rather difficult situation for what the bulk of leafland see as their saviour.

stud defenseman do more than log minutes and keep the puck out of the net. they usually contribute offence as well. this means that schenn's role will be limited. will he be a power play guy? it's not really in his skill set. will he be on the ice in the latter half of the third when you really need that tying goal? only if he is playing the role of defensive conscience for the offensive players out there.

while he will undoubtedly mature into a great shutdown defenseman, he is no phaneuf, pronger, lidstrom. Stepping down from that lofty level, I’m not sure he's even a franchise defenseman. heck, if you look at the ice-time leaders among defenseman, most are fairly solid point producers, or at least good strong two-way players.

schenn, as good as he will be at playing a strong d-game, is really only a solid top 4 guy.

is this truly the rock to build upon? or merely a useful piece of the someday puzzle?

[Leaf Fan]

A couple of comments:

No he doesn't owe anything the to Leafs. But would it have been classy of him to agree to a trade to a contender last year to improve the team he's captained for so long? Sure it would have. And if he had decided this year to go somewhere else, I don't think anyone would have faulted him for it.

All that stuff about not wanting to be a rent a player is crap. And no I don't believe he just "changed his mind". That was just an excuse at the time to not pack up and leave. If he really meant it, he would have signed somewhere in Sept or earlier.

The other point is everyone and his mother in the media said New York was his first choice which I get since they have a shot to get out of the East. But Vancouver? Either he waited too long to make up his mind and got screwed over by NY's cap issues or at the end of the day it was all about the money. Cause he ain't winning anything in Vancouver.

[Matt]

Well said Mr. Cox, well said. Those who think Mats is out for the money should be ashamed of themselves. Mats owes absolutely nothing to Toronto or the Leafs. In fact, an argument could be made that the Leafs wasted Sundin's career -- putting Steve Thomas and Jonas Hoglund on the top line with Mats was a joke. Where were the real star wingers to help him? Its not like the Leafs were short on cash in the pre-salary cap era. For years the Leafs hung Sundin out to dry and used his star prowess and amazing talent to keep the Gardens and ACC full. Not to mention the abuse Mats received from the media and disgruntled fans. Did he ever complain as spoiled, rich atheletes often do? Not once. Instead, he took it all in stride, put up a point a game for 12 years in a row, and provided some much needed class to an organization that, until recently, was only in it for the money. I was never a fan of the Canucks before, but I sure am now. Go Canucks Go!

[DH]

Good bye and good luck, Mats.

What I always liked best about Sundin was that he always seemed genuinely happy for his teamamtes when one of them scored. He always had the biggest grin for the scorer.

He never showed up the opposition, never complained about getting stiffed with wingers like Jonas Hoglund, never complained publicly about the misguided/somewhat offensive idea that Europeans are somehow inferior to local pluggers and fringers.

He just went out and led the team in scoring season after season. He was truly gold in a brass age, to quote from Raymond Carver.

[Chris]

Damien...whether or not he has the right to "change his mind," that doesn't change his comments about being a rental player. He's still becoming one. All I will say about him going to the Canucks is this. He wouldn't even be able to play hockey anymore if the Leafs had made the playoffs any of the past few years. That fact, along with the lockout year has extended his career. He will break down in the playoffs with Vancouver and it will be a useless acquisition for them, when they need him the most I might add.

As for the "Silver Fox," give the guy some credit! He had trades lined up last year that would have changed this team drastically for the better had Sundin and Kaberle agreed to them. He would have gotten Jeff Carter and Phily's 1st pick for Keberle. And he would have gotten Grabovski and Higgins and I think a 2nd pick from the Habs for Sundin! Imagine our lineup without ONLY Kaberle out of our current group this season, and it would have Grabovski still, and Higgins, and Carter! Not to mention they could have traded up with those draft picks and possibly gotten Stamkos, and if not, they would have Schenn and possibly another player like Phily got in Sbiza, who is a great skating and puck moving dmen (sound familiar - Tomas Kaberle, but younger). It's not his fault that JP was an idiot and gave out all those no trade clauses. So like I said, give Cliff some credit!

[jeff]

you said it all damien: He was as loyal to them as they were to him...get over it Leaf fans. Mats was a great captain and gave it his all...quit crying becasue he didnt bring a chapionship...thanks for the memories mats...i appreciated yoru time here

[Mark]

damian, i by no means always agree with you but this time you are spot on. save one point. who are the other four post-expansion leafs better than sundin? surely not gimour, clark, or sittler? salming might be close, but no cigar really.

sundin was no superman. nor was he the best player in the league at any moment over the past 15 years. but he was always in the top ten for that entire time. there are only a half a dozen or so players with that sort of quality and durability.

in short, he is the best post-cup leaf, and one of the classiest players this city has ever been fortunate enough to have grace its stage.

as for the idiots that so classlessly accuse sundin of hypocricy, get a grip. after the vitriol spewed towards sundin last winter when he legitimately declined to have his contract torn up so the bumbling and inept mlse could try to cover its butt, who could blame him for anything.

ingrates. all of you. look in the mirror and realize that your ilk are the reason the rest of the hockey world despises and mocks the so-called 'leaf nation.'

is there a more deluded group of fans in the world?

and i have been a leafs fan since the sittler era, btw.