There will be no game seven. And I'm all Carl Thomas-like emotional.
Honestly, never would I have imagined that Roberto Luongo would allow seven goals in an elimination game. Not when his team scored five. My heart goes out to the Vancouver Canucks' captain. I would have cried after that performance, too.
Mats Sundin, my pride and joy; a goal and an assist. In keeping with the truthiness theme, he never looked right in a Canucks uniform. Mats looked a step behind; disinterested. But he still put up the points. Like he always did.
I won't lie, it was a rough night. I donned my Sundin jersey in the third period, hoping for some Mats magic. It came; he scored the fourth Vancouver goal. Foolish me, I thought it might end up being the winner. Not even close.
When it comes to Sundin, the Vancouver media and Canucks fans will be ruthless today, and in the coming days. So-called Leafs fans will take their shots at Mats as well. It's not going to be pleasant. I imagine I'll be drinking a lot of Forty Creek.
Looking back, the way it all went down, there was never meant to be a happy ending. If last night was goodbye, regardless of the jersey, thanks for the memories, Mats ...
UPDATE: It's 5:30 AM, and I can't sleep. It's beginning to sink in: Sundin will never win the Stanley Cup. Fuck.
UPDATE #2: Eight points in eight games. One. More. Year. Come home, Mats ...
10 comments:
Thanks for coming along for the ride with us. I know it couldn't have been easy for ya.
(PS - Please don't let Burke take the Sedins away. As you now see, we need all the help we can get. Thanks!)
you're a good man, eyebeleaf.
when the mouthbreathers inevitably start taking shots at Mats, try not to let it bother you too much. we know the truth.
Vancouver not winning the Cup = awesome
Mats not winning the Cup = sad
Mats retiring in another jersey = heartbreaking
Come back one more year Mats.
...what Clawson said.
I was thinkin' 'bout you last night, lad. Hang in there. In the long term, whether Mats comes back or not, this season won't diminish his stature as one of the true greats. Joe Montana in a Chiefs uni never looked right either, nor Sittler in a Wings or Flyers jersey. Over time, the others will come to believe what you already see.
Despite the farewell I wrote today (shameless plug) I would love for Mats to come back to play one more season but only if he can play it at the level he is accustomed to playing at. I keep thinking back to the 1999-2004 years when Sundin retiring or playing for another team was unfathomable to me. Now I can't help but getting a little teary knowing the end is near/here.
I love Mats, but let's be honest here: if he really wanted to win the Cup, he would have signed with Detroit for the league minimum and not taken the fattest offer he received.
We'll never know if Detroit even made Sundin an offer. They were up against the cap all season.
True. In fact, apparently Detroit didn't make an offer: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=244905
However, I'm sure Mats' agent could have made Detroit the "league minimum, we'll join you in January" offer.
Just sayin'. Mats took the best financial offer. Doubtful he took the best chance to win a Cup offer.
I'm sure Mats' agent could have; perhaps he did. Perhaps the Wings said no. We'll never know.
But I can't chide Sundin for doing what he did. Vancouver won the tough Northwest division with 100 points, and had home ice in the playoffs for both their series. And they have Luongo. That's a pretty good team, I'd say. As has always been the case for Mats, his team just couldn't get it done. That doesn't mean he didn't make the best choice (considering both money and team). If he signed with the Rangers, I'd totally agree, but I thought the Canucks could do more damage than the 2nd round.
No disputing that Vancouver is a half decent team.
Off topic, but I have to admit to having my doubts on Luongo. He's had ten seasons in the NHL and has won a whopping two playoff rounds. Granted, you can never place the blame on one player, but he's certainly never had that "take the team on my back and lead them to glory" that many other upper echelon goalies have had.
Pierre McGuire said the other night that Cam Ward was playing his way onto Team Canada and I laughed out loud - then I realized that he is exactly what Luongo is not - average regular seasons but solid in the playoffs. Hell, he's NEVER lost a playoff series and the Canes are on the verge of bouncing the Bruins. And no one can convince me that the Canes are a super talented team.
/end rambling thoughts.
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