A summer blog?
Are you kidding me?
You would think I'd have something better to do. Unfortunately I do not.
Anyhow, with so much going on Canuck wise lately, I felt I needed to chime in on a few things.
First off, let's start with a former Canuck, Mats Sundin.
That's right.
Former.
From what I've been told Mats is done. And not just with the Canucks. Expect the big Swede to call it a career sometime in the near future. It's my understanding that Sundin really isn't mulling over whether or not to return right now. He made up his decision shortly after the Canucks season ended. Someone would REALLY have to knock his socks off with an offer. Say $10 million or so?
As for Roberto Luongo, a deal wasn't imminent on draft day, and one still isn't imminent now. But that's not to say the two sides aren't talking. And just the fact that Luongo is talking contract with the Canucks should calm the fears of fans who think he's going to bolt south as quick as humanly possible. Signing the Sedins (see below) was a great thing for Mike Gillis in terms of dealing with Luongo. You can bet Roberto has a greater desire to remain a Canuck with Daniel and Henrik under contract.
As for the twinkies, we'll never know how close they were to leaving - BUT - just the fact that Gillis had to go to Sweden to seal the deal speaks volumes to me. My guess is that Daniel and Henrik were very close to testing the open market. Did they want to leave? No. And that's why ultimately they left some money on the table. And there is no doubt they could have got $7 million a season each from someone. Montreal and Toronto (the two teams that were also seriously in the running for Mattias Ohlund) would have made big time pushes to sign these two. And I hope Canuck fans understand that signing these two was the best possible scenario for Vancouver.
Finally, the Kyle Wellwood optining for arbitration story. I don't blame him for wanting to go to arbitration. Hey he had 18 goals last season and teams will pay for that. However, if the Canucks lose the arbitration case, I say let him walk. Vancouver doesn't have a lot of bucks left under the cap. And if some dude awards Wellwood $1.5 - $2 million a year, the Canucks should give their young guys (Hodgson, Grabner, Hansen, Raymond) a chance to blossom. Then take whatever money you have left and get another defenceman.