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Kanada Kev

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http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=210584&hubname=

Sundin_39171.jpg

Sundin agrees to one year deal

Darren Dreger with CP files

6/12/2007 2:10:02 PM

The Toronto Maple Leafs have agreed to a one-year deal with captain Mats Sundin for $5.5 million. It includes no-trade and no movement clauses.

TSN reported on Monday that the Leafs would have been happy to sign a longer deal, but Sundin pushed for a shorter one.

"We are extremely proud to have Mats continue as captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs," Leafs GM John Ferguson said. "Not only has he been one of the greatest players in our franchise history, but his exemplary leadership on and off the ice has been all that any organization could want from a team captain.

"We'll rely on Mats' playing ability on the ice and on all of the contributions he makes to the development of our young players. Having him in the fold will have a positive impact on our club for many years to come."

Sundin's salary cap figure last season was $6.3 million, so Toronto receives a significant savings with this deal. It also gives the Leafs more flexibility beyond 2008 in case Sundin retires after the coming season.

Sundin will make more actual dollars than he would have if the Leafs had exercised their option on his old deal, and he now controls his own destiny when it comes to ending his career on his own terms.

"I think it's a good fit for everybody, just where I am at my age at this stage of my career," Sundin told reporters on a conference call. "I just think I'm at the stage of my career where it feels good (to sign for one year). It gives me more pressure to perform, too.

"I just like the frame of mind that I play one year and then I evaluate myself."

Sundin noted that he did not think he would ever leave the Leafs in the hope of winning a Stanley Cup elsewhere.

"I've never felt there was a bigger chance to win a Stanley Cup with a different organization," he said. "Especially with the last few years where we've seen a new organization winning every year. All the organizations are pretty evenly matched with the salary cap. ..

"I do want to finish my career as a Toronto Maple Leaf. I don't have any urgency to go anywhere else."

Sundin also said he was not concerned about his health.

"I had some issues in the middle of last season with my hip, it was a little sore. I think it's because I got hit once. After that, I worked out with Matt Nichol and the medical staff," Sundin said. "For the last two months of the season I really didn't have any problems at all. It didn't bother me. There's nothing that bothers me now."

Sundin had 76 points in 75 games last season, including 27 goals.

In his career, Sundin has scored 523 goals and 720 assists for 1,243 points in 1,231 games.

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what a douchebag. maybe they should make the playoffs before he speculates on the outcome of a possible series.

Sundin would not speculate on his future if the next season doesn’t work out the way he envisions.

He said he’s enthusiastic about the Leafs’ chances to win the championship, even though the team has missed the playoffs two years in a row.

He said NHL teams are more evenly matched than ever with the salary cap and pointed to Ottawa, the finalist this year, as a team not much more gifted than the Leafs. He said he believes the Leafs could have beaten Ottawa in a seven-game series had they made it to the playoffs.

"I like the fact all the teams are more even with salary caps," he said. “There’s a smaller difference between the best team in the league and the team that finished last. We played Ottawa many times. No reason we couldn’t have beaten them in seven games."

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TORONTO (CP) - The Toronto Maple Leafs have made a millionaire out of Carlo Colaiacovo, their oft-injured defenceman who has played a grand total of 73 NHL games.

The NHL team announced a US$3.85-million, three-year contract renewal with the 24-year-old blue-liner Thursday.

"He made some great strides, last year especially," said GM John Ferguson Jr., who apparently has a lot of money to spend. "He's got some real good upside.

"We look forward to having him as an integral part of our defence for the next three years."

Colaiacovo, who grew up in Toronto, appeared in 48 games in 2006-07 and scored eight goals while assisting on nine and getting 22 penalty minutes. He was a plus-5 on the plus-minus scale. Among rookie NHL defencemen, he had the second-most goals and was sixth in points.

The six-foot-one, 200-pound defenceman, who has had concussion setbacks, was the team's nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which is awarded annually for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. He was Toronto's first choice, 17th overall, in the 2001 entry draft. The Leafs haven't qualified for the playoffs since 2004. They'll take to the ice this autumn with many of the players who were in the lineup last season.

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Typical. They're treating him like an Antropov ... ONE OF THESE YEARS HE'S GOING TO BE GREAT. In the meantime they'll just keep throwing money at him :P

They just keep eating away at that cap money so that they're in the driver's seat for when the free agents are up for bidding ... PFFFT

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Another issue for Hockey Night is the quality of the Leafs' team. Insiders suggest there's a concern about the limited success the team is likely to achieve in the next several years. Most hockey experts rank the Leafs as the weakest among the six Canadian NHL teams. The probability of the Leafs making the playoffs any time soon is questionable at best. Hockey Night will seek to showcase Canadian teams with a better chance of advancing to the postseason.

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They may have added Mark Bell as well:

COLUMBUS — The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired capable goalie Vesa Toskala from the San Jose Sharks.

The deal, which includes forward Mark Bell going to Toronto, has cost the Leafs their first-round selection (13th overall), second and fourth-round picks.

Bell, who turns 27 on Aug. 5, had a disappointing season with the Sharks, scoring only 11 times in 71 games.

Toskala, 30, will enter the final year of his contract that will pay him $1.375-million (all figures U.S.) and the Leafs were trying to sign him to an extension. The Finnish product made a career-high 38 appearances in 2006-07, enjoyed a 26-10- record, 2.35 goals against average and .908 save percentage.

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