Mats' silence speaks volumes

Hey Peeps and anyone else checking in. A special "Hey" goes out to Hazel Mae.

Mats Sundin was in Pittsburgh to attend Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals - Napoloen Bettman and the other donkeys in the NHL's head office are taking a page from the good folks at the NFL and asking the big stars to attend the big event.

Sundin had to know that he was going to be asked about his future with the Toronto Maple Leafs and in the league itself. Sundin was his usual self - guarded - not giving anything away and keeping all of his options open. When asked if the Leafs search for a GM could impact his decision, Sundin answered in the affirmative, saying:

"I think it will have an effect, knowing how we played the last three years, how we missed the playoffs. I would like to see that the team is making a real effort to improve."

When further pressed about signing somewhere else, Mats was non-committal, but...

"I have not even thought about it. The biggest thing is I want to see what happens with the Leafs first."

This is all about Brian Burke - the one thing Leaf Nation better come to grips with is that if Burke takes over, Sundin isn't likely to be resigned. Over and above Burke's preference for North American players, he isn't likely to sign Sundin to anything more than a one year deal, and the talk is Sundin is looking for 2-3 years.

Interesting times in the Nation - who do we want? The man who has been the face of the franchise for the last decade? The man who won the Mark Messier Award for leadership?

OR

Do we want the man who is going to make some tough, and very unpopular, decisions in order to the the blue and white back to being a legitimate Cup contender?

Hard to believe we might be able to have our cake and eat it too.

If Sundin leaves the Leafs after July 1st - you can bet it was because he knows Burke is coming; conversely, if he signs a 2-3 year deal, it likely means Burke won't be running the Leafs this season.

That's it for the week gang - yours truly is headed to the great city of Chicago for Road Trip 2009. Bleacher seats at Wrigley on Saturday - Tilt won't be making this trip, but for those of you who were around for our recap of our weekend at Fenway, may remember our buddy we tagged "Teabag". Teabag is making the trip.

Recap of Wrigley - and the great city of Chicago - next week.

Boston vs Chicago!

Have a great weekend gang - thanks for taking the time to check in.

Hazel, here's hoping things are groovy in your world.

I'm Out!