Dear Mats Sundin: Thanks for Everything, but I Hope You Suck in Vancouver

Dear Mats Sundin,

It's finally over!

The divorce papers were signed and the ink dried long ago. Still, when I opened the newspaper and read about how you took the plunge and signed with the Vancouver Canucks...I am not going to lie, it hurt. At least it wasn't the New York Rangers.

It's tough when you have been traded in for a more successful model.  The Canucks are sitting comfortably in a fifth-place playoff position in the Western Conference, something we in Leafs Nation couldn't offer you.  With a great goalie in Roberto Luongo and strong play by Daniel Sedin, it was only a matter of time before you jumped ship.

As with any relationship, we are left with both good and bad memories.  How many times have we seen you score a game-tying goal in the last minute of play? More than I can remember. 

Your presence during moments of desperation was enough for Leaf fans to feel anticipation for you to force overtime with your one-timer shots and wraparounds.

You have done it all. You scored goals, gave the old face wash to people who got in your way, dug pucks out of the corner, won key faceoffs, etc.

Throughout your tenure in Toronto, you always lived up to your captain duties.  You faced the media with dignity and grace even when the team hid after a horrendous game. 

You may not have been a loud, screaming banshee on the ice, but you did lead by example, and I did see passion and anger in your eyes when things weren't going our way. You were consistently among the teams' top point scorers and the Leafs go-to player in many situations.  

I consider how much you accomplished in Toronto with very little support an understatement. 

Yes, I know, if only you had had better wingers, been on a team with less injuries, had an upper-echelon goalie, the Leafs may have won the Stanley Cup. But you made do with what you had.

This much is true—Toronto not winning a Stanley Cup cannot be solely blamed on you.  

Vancouver is getting a talented player who can make things happen on the ice.  It will be interesting to see how you fit in.

Perhaps this is the test you have been waiting for. You are on a team with all the ingredients to become a Stanley Cup winner.  Sure, luck and good timing can help as well, but only time will tell.  If you can't win the big prize in Vancouver, perhaps it just wasn't meant to be.

I should wish you well. You certainly did deserve a right to pick and choose how and when you wanted to play and for whom, given your accomplishments. 

I, for one, will still wear my Sundin jersey, and do so with pride. 

However, I confess, there is a small, selfish, jilted, shrewish part of me that wants you to play horribly and fail.  It is spiteful, but I never said I was perfect.  You dragged out the drama for far too long and kept false hope alive, making me believe you were coming back.

Another part of me is just bitter.  I mean, how would you feel if your hero Borje Salming just up and left to play for Finlands's National Team?  But that is neither here nor there.

Sorry, Mats. I honestly tried to be happy for you when I read the papers.  I really tried to be the bigger person. And the fact that you chose the Canucks over the Rangers does show that you still have integrity.

Perhaps when you retire we can be friends again.  But, for now, the pain is a little bit raw and I never said I was a selfless person.  It's nothing personal.  It's about self-preservation.  You understand, right?

I see you are coming to town on Feb. 21. I don't know how I will feel then, how I will react to seeing you with another team.  Maybe time will heal all wounds. 

You never know what tomorrow brings.

Sincerely,

A Leafs Nation fan

P.S You know we love you and always will ;)