Update: Mats Sundin signs for 1 year for $10 Million (pro-rated for the remainder of the season)
Just when we thought the Mats Sundin saga would never end surprising news broke out of Vancouver that Sundin has signed with the Vancouver Canucks. TSN is reporting that Sundin has agreed to a contract with the Canucks, but did not disclose terms of the deal. The Canucks had originally offered Sundin a two year deal worth $20 million. Sundin had expressed his desire throughout the process that he only wanted a one year deal, so whether or not he signed on for what the Canucks offered has yet to be revealed.
Sundin hasn’t played a meaningful game in more than 8 months, so how much of an immediate impact he will have for the Vancouver Canucks remains to be seen. In most cases players have an adrenaline rush out of the gate, and then are fairly quiet for a month while they get back into game shape. However, the addition of Sundin should turn the Canucks into a legitimate cup contender, assuming Roberto Luongo returns in the not-so-distant future and can remain healthy for a playoff run.
As relieved as Sundin, his agent, and the Canucks are to have this ongoing saga finally come to a close, the biggest collective sigh of relief came from hockey writers everywhere who were getting downright tired of the endless speculation. Time to move on to Peter Forsberg now 🙂