It was just after Cliff Fletcher replaced John Ferguson Jr. as the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs when the Leafs Nation media machine ramped up the speculation on the possibility that Mats Sundin would be traded.
It’s now weeks later and the Leafs army of pundits have spilled gallons of ink in newspapers and hours of airtime on the country’s sports networks and radio stations have been devoted to whether or not he would be traded, where he would go and who the Leafs would receive in return.
It was an ongoing story that had almost no new developments from start to finish.
Sundin said all along that he wouldn’t waive his no-trade clause and never gave any real indication that he would change his mind.
But the questions remained. Does he really mean it? Will he change his mind? Does he have a list of teams he would play for? How will Leaf fans react if he’s traded? Why doesn’t he want to win a Stanley Cup? Why would you want to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs? Why go down with the ship, when someone is offering you a lifeboat?
Finally, this madness has come to an end as the NHL’s trade deadline will end all speculation today at 3 p.m.
Those sports fans who don’t like hockey are used to the fact that their sports sections will be devoted to Leafs news and having to sit through the Leafs coverage that leads off every sports highlight show.
But it must be infuriating for hardcore Raptors fans who’ve seen their team become an afterthought in sports coverage because of a non-story like the Mats Sundin saga.
The Raptors have an exciting team who will make the playoffs for the second year in a row. They have one of the best young players in the game with Chris Bosh, a competent general manager with Bryan Colangelo that ensures the team will be good for many years to come.
They are a team that has people asking “How great will they be?” rather than “How much more ugly can this possibly get?”
And while sports fans will get a temporary break from speculation about Mats Sundin, the Leafs season will end just as the Raptors begin their playoff run and the questions will begin again.
Has Mats Sundin played his final game as a Leaf? Will he retire? Will he sign elsewhere? Will he play hockey in Sweden?
The madness never ends.
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