Mats Sundin Will Not Play in 2010 Olympics

(Originally posted in Orato.com)

Mats Sundin, who played for the Vancouver Canucks this season, says he will not play for Team Sweden at the Vancouver Olympics this February, according to an interview he did with Swedish newspaper Expressen.

Sundin was quoted as saying, "There will be no Olympics in Vancouver for me next year...I will not change my mind" (HockeyExpressen.se, June 21, 2009). There was a comment about seeing the next generation of players taking over in the Olympics instead, citing Sweden has many good players at the present time.

Meanwhile, the biggest question Vancouver fans will be wondering is whether the 38-year-old Sundin will return for the 2009-10 season. According to the interview, Sundin will make a decision in the summer, though he stated he "absolutely" wouldn't rule out the possibility of playing for the Canucks again next season.

Canucks fans most likely would rather not see GM Mike Gillis wait around for Sundin as he did this year, when Sundin didn't make up his mind about which team to sign with until the new calendar year.

Sundin also expressed disappointment that the Canucks bowed out in the second round of the playoffs to Chicago, saying that had Vancouver gotten past the Blackhawks, the Canucks could have given the Detroit Red Wings a tough time in the Western Conference Finals.

Sundin scored nine goals in 41 games in a Canucks uniform last season after spending the previous 13 with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Sundin added three goals and eight points in eight playoff games this past spring. For his career, the Swedish centre has 564 goals and 1,349 points in 1,346 career regular-season games.