Take the Money and Run

Marian Hossa and Mats Sundin both have one thing in common. Despite both having a lot of skill neither has won a Stanley Cup and both would like to add one to their resume.

Hossa in order to do so left a 5 year multimillion dollar contract on the table and went to the Red Wings for a paycut and a one year deal. Hossa was praised for his decision by the media labelling him as a rare example of an athlete that was not a mercenary. He was following the example of Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne who also took major paycuts to leave a one-year removed Stanley Cup Finalist Ducks team to play for the Colorado Avalanche, who they felt were closer to winning a Cup. The experiment badly failed. Kariya still has not won a Cup and Selanne only won one by returning to the team he had spurned.

As for Sundin he hemmed and hawed before signing on to play with a Canucks team, while decent, that wasn't a true Cup contender but paid him more money than any other team. When he signed Sundin was offended by the suggestion that he signed for a team that didn't have a legitimate chance at a Cup.

The end result: both ended up without the Stanley Cup. Sundin though has a lot more money to console him.

Bye Bye Mats

While showing the final minutes of the Chicago Blackhawks-Vancouver Canucks game CBC panned over the Canucks bench and paused at Mats Sundin. The image broke my heart. There was the great former Leaf on the verge of tears knowing that what very well may be his last chance at winning a Stanley Cup disappear. Full disclosure: I didn't want the Canucks to win. This was not because I did not want Sundin to win a Cup, but because if any team should bring a team back to Canada it should be the Leafs. If Sundin was on the Wings, Ducks, Caps, Pens, or even the Hurricanes it would have been a different story. Unfortunately, he was on the Canucks, a team that I could not bring myself to cheer for. Some Leafs fans could make the transition but I couldn't.

Nevertheless, if this is indeed Sundin's last game he has left us with some remarkable memories.

Who could forget the hattrick, OT winner and 500th goal all on one shot?


His goal against Carolina, in the final seconds of Game 6 of the 2002 Conference Finals, sending the game to OT. This was perhaps the loudest I've ever screamed at a goal.



His emotional return to Toronto


Good bye Mats and thank you.

Divorce

Divorce. It is the dissolution of a bond between partners. It's often an ugly and messy affair. Sometimes though, when you have gone far enough with someone and it's not working out, you just have to cut your losses. After years of your partner continually disappointing you, at some point enough is enough and you are bound to seek comfort elsewhere. If the partner abuses you, you have to move on. The process can be long lasting but in rare occassions it is quick and sudden. This explains the sad situation in Vancouver. Canucks fans by demonstrating their confidence that they will win the Cup have shown they have divorced reality.