Fan In Van

Sundin Saga, Part 13

I’ve got to say that it certainly feels like the Mats Sundin sweepstakes have dragged on for about the better part of four months.

Oh wait, that’s because it has.

And while everyone in the hockey universe and in fantasy hockey land are on pins and needles waiting on the return of one Mats Sundin, none of us can truly say we know the reason why Mats Sundin has taken this long to make a decision as to play or not, and if so, for whom.

Canuck general manager Mike Gillis said in an interview early in the pre-season that there were things outside the public realm that were affecting Mats’ decision.

Today, we might have figured out one of those reasons.

According to The Bleacher Report, Mats Sundin is a father, and has recently sold his $5.7M Toronto home:

I said it back in August. The reason Mats Sundin is waffling on his decision to play or not, is a personal one, probably something to do with his new fiancee/wife.

In the November 8th Sporting News article, Mathieu Schneider has a warning for Mats Sundin, Craig Custance quotes Schneider saying “(Sundin’s) always kind of maintained that he wanted to play in the East. I think it’s the travel. He has a young baby now, and it’s so much more difficult with the travel in the West. You just feel like you’re never at home.”

BABY?

Ex-squeeze me, did he say “baby?”

Last I heard, Sundin was engaged to his new girlfriend, though at the time there was some debate as to whether or not they were married. A reporter had spotted a wedding band on Mats’s left hand and asked him about it, to which Sundin replied “Oh, no. We are just engaged, that’s how it’s worn in Europe.”

It seems Mats Sundin has in fact been married all along - probably since finding out about his girlfriend’s pregnancy. And being the private person he is, he has kept this information a secret. Of course this is all pure speculation at this point.

The baby is now born and all of a sudden the entire “will I play, or won’t I play” episode of the summer past makes so much more sense.

If this is all true, then you have to tip your hat to Mike Gillis and the Canucks organization for the way they played their Mats Sundin card. With such a sensitive issue in Mats’ mind this summer, the last thing he would want is to be hounded by general managers, demanding an answer or setting deadlines. Gillis’ unique stance of waiting patiently and endlessly for Mats Sundin with the door wide open has certainly given him more credibility in Mats Sundin’s mind.

Now, as to whether or not the waiting game will pay off for Mike Gillis, that is a whole other question. Needless to say, if the Canucks end up landing Sundin, it will be four months well worth the wait.