By Canucks Fanz Columnist: Brendan Batchelor

The Toronto Maple Leafs fired General Manager John Ferguson Jr. this past Tuesday. In his place, Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment hired former Leafs’ GM Cliff Fletcher to replace Ferguson as an interim General Manager. Fletcher, who captained the ship in Toronto between the years of 1991 and 1997, was nicknamed “Trader Cliff” because of his tendency to make gigantic, multi-player trades. Most notably, Fletcher made the 10 player trade that brought Doug Gilmour to Toronto from Calgary in the early days of 1992. But what, if anything, does this change in the centre of the universe have to do with Canuck fans? The answer is everything.

Listen closely, because I’m about to blow your mind. Tell your friends, tell your neighbours, tell your brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers, you heard it here first. Mats Sundin will be a member of the Vancouver Canucks before February 26, 2008.

The recent talks that have been reported between the Leafs and Canucks pertaining to the acquisition of Sundin will now only escalate with the addition of Fletcher. The only stumbling block Fletcher may run into is convincing Sundin to waive his no trade clause. But the common conclusion is that Sundin wants three things.

Firstly, Sundin has been a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs since 1994, when Fletcher brought him in from Quebec. Sundin loves Toronto and has no desire to live anywhere else. Secondly, Sundin wants what is good for the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. He wants the Leafs to be a winning team and would do almost anything to help that happen. Finally, he wants to win a Stanley Cup.

It seems that the best fit, which could help Sundin achieve all of these goals, is a place in Vancouver. Sundin, who is in his contract year, would only realistically have to play in Vancouver for four months, assuming the Canucks go all the way to the finals.  This would allow him to improve the Canucks’ offence and give them a serious chance to advance deep into the playoffs and maybe even win a Stanley Cup. He could then re-sign with the Leafs on July 1, and return home to Toronto with his Stanley Cup ring, without having to uproot and move across the country.

This scenario would also help the Toronto Maple Leafs long term. The Buds are now looking to rebuild with a solid base of young players, something Vancouver has to offer in spades. Don’t be surprised to see the likes of Luc Bourdon, Michael Grabner, Mason Raymond, or even Kevin Bieksa going the other way in order to acquire Sundin. This deal would allow the Canucks a very serious chance at winning the Stanley Cup this season, but it would also provide the Leafs with a starting point for the solid depth of young players they so desperately need.

In theory, the Canucks could acquire Sundin without having to give up any roster players, a proposal that should make Canuck fans drool. But while some may see Sundin as a washed up player, the opposite is actually the case. Sundin has compiled an impressive 52 points in 49 games while playing for Toronto this season, which would make him the leading scorer on the Canucks’ if he were to be added to the line-up today. Sundin also boasts an impressive 10 +/- rating while playing for a team that has given up an embarrassing 157 goals so far this season, a stat that has the Leafs sitting at 27th in the league. All of this in addition to the fact that Sundin has had little help from his various line mates like Jason Blake, Alexei Ponikarovsky and Nik Antropov, who only have a combined 92 points between them.

Now compare the situation in Toronto to the situation in Vancouver. Sundin would likely play on a line with fellow Swede and former Olympic teammate Markus Naslund. Sundin has excelled when playing with his countrymen, tallying an impressive eight points in eight games during Sweden’s gold-medal run at the 2006 Olympics in Italy. On a team in Vancouver that deserves to be nicknamed “Team Sweden,” with five Swedes in the starting line-up, Sundin should feel right at home.

While Canuck fans may see the potential for so many young players heading to Toronto as a high price to pay for very short term success, I have a feeling that once Mats Sundin gets out of the mess that is currently the Toronto Maple Leafs and sees the situation from an outsiders’ view, coupled with the likelihood of success for the Canucks upon his arrival, the chances of him choosing to re-sign with Vancouver are very high, and with Sundin in the line up, the Canucks could see more long term success for years to come.

Discuss it here!

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