How Sundin's Decision Affects Teemu's Plus Jay B. and Sakic

Now we all know about the Mats Sundin situation and how he is waiting until August 1st which is this Friday to make a decision.  Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and maybe a few other clubs not mentioned are waiting for the momentous decision.  Will he stay in Toronto?  Will he defect to bitter rival Montreal?  Will he take the 2 year 20 million offer from Vancouver?  Or according to his agent one of three other teams no one has talked about one of whom is Detroit? Each team who is in the running will greatly benefit from his presence.  In Toronto, fans will come and see one of the greatest Maple Leafs on a average at best team.  in Montreal he can take first line center while Koivu can take second line center or other way around it will not make a difference but one thing for sure is that team will be scary.  In Vancouver he and the Sedin twins and Demetria will be the bright spots on an otherwise below average group of forwards.  But Mat's decision might have larger effect than people realize. Teemu Selanne might base his decision off of Mat's. Yes the guy no one has heard from since the end of the season.

The hottest rumor from people is that Teemu will pick Montreal if Sundin does NOT go there.  However if Sundin does go to Montreal it is unclear where Teemu will go.  His silence might have cost him a chance to return to the Ducks as Brian Burke does not want to wait until January again to hear his decision.  In fact Burke himself has stated when asked about Teemu, "I have not heard from Teemu," Burke said. "If anyone spots him, please ask him to call me."  So now Teemu has an interesting situation if Sundin picks Montreal because where will he go then?  It's no doubt he will get offers from teams but the question who will go after him?  He only made 1.5 million this year from Anaheim so if he keeps his salary at that that allows every team but ten to make him offer for the same amount of money.  However the silence from him or his agent about if he even wants to keep playing/play in the NHL might drive teams away.  So it will be an interesting situation to watch come this Friday as two great guys future will be announced.

Another hockey great that has been overshadowed by the Sundin situation is Joe Sakic.  He has yet to decide to whether he wants one more go-around with the Colorado Avalanche who definitely lost some guys in free agency this year or to retire.  He will have either Wolski, Hejduk, or Smyth as his two line mates.  While Statsny and Svatos (assuming he comes back from his torn ACL ok) as two young and very good players.  The defense should be decent this year with Scott Hannan leading the way for them.  The only major question mark is the goalie situation.  Peter Budjai failed to take hold of the no. 1 spot which lead to the deal for Jose Theodore whom ended up winning the starting spot.  Should Budjai fail the backup is Andrew Raycroft who has been anything but spectacular with the Maple Leafs and Bruins.  So Sakic has decide whether playing again is worth the risk of either one of the worst seasons with Colorado or if they get some surprise goaltending from either one of the best besides the 1996 and 2001 seasons respectively.

The latest and perhaps the most important (until August 1st) news in the hockey world as everyone knows (even ESPN) is that the Florida Panthers signed Bouwmeester to a one year 4.875 million dollar contract to avoid arbitration with the defenseman who played in all 82 games each of the last three years and recorded a career high 15 goals this year.  Bouwmeester knows he will be the most sought after defenseman next year in free agency at only 24.  Other notable free agents next year will be Scott Niedermayer, Sergei Zubov, Rob Blake, Mathieu Schneider.  So now the question becomes are the panthers going to hold onto him and hope for the best and if they do well hopefully convince him to stay long term?  Or are they going to hold onto him until the trade deadline and hopefully get some players in return?  Or in the most unlikeliest of scenarios trade him now in case something happens to him?  The Florida Panthers do not want to trade another one of their superstars like Roberto Luongo and end up with nothing.  Many teams have been mentioned in rumors to trade for Bouwmeester however it is unlikely for anything to come to fruition until the trade deadline in my opinion unless some team offers Florida a heart-stopping deal for him before the season starts.

Now until training camp will be a very interesting to see who makes last minute trades and signings.  Many rumors are flying around such as Maxim Afinogenov who might be moved to either Vancouver, Washington, or Montreal and Anton Vermette to Vancouver!!  Also decisions by some great players who have not yet decided to play or retire yet such as Brendan Shanahan and Peter Forsberg among a few others could end up greatly benefiting a team.  So Stay Tuned as training camp and the season draws closer!