Realistically, the Toronto Maple Leafs are out of the playoff hunt.
With only one month to go, Leaf fans are coming to terms with one of the worst seasons in recent memory.
But, the ugliest part of this season was not the Leaf’s abysmal performance on the ice. It was the treatment of captain Mats Sundin.
No player in the last decade has done more for the Leafs than Sundin. He is the undisputed captain of the team because of his skill and leadership ability. Which, coincidently, makes him the most valuable player on the Leafs’ roster.
So, when new general manager Cliff Fletcher went into the trade deadline looking to make changes, Sundin was the player most teams were interested in.
Unfortunately, like most of Toronto’s high-profile players, Sundin has a no-trade clause in his contract. And he doesn’t want to be traded.
Fletcher was right to ask Sundin if he would waive his no-trade clause. There was a chance that Sundin wanted a change in scenery. But when Sundin indicated he wanted to stay in Toronto, the speculation should have ended. It didn’t.
Despite all the rumours flying around, Fletcher waited until the last possible moment to formally sit down with Sundin and his agent to ask him what he wanted to do.
The problem is that Fletcher didn’t need to wait for that sit-down meeting. Sundin had made it very clear from the beginning that he didn’t want to leave Toronto. And there was no reason to wait until only two days before the trade deadline.
The Leafs organization needlessly fuelled the speculation even further by making Sundin sit out practices. To sports reporters, it looked like the Leafs wanted Sundin to be healthy for a trade and they ran with the story.
The whole situation could have been avoided if the Leafs followed the example set by the Ottawa Senators.
Earlier this year, speculation was rampant in Ottawa that Wade Redden was the subject of some serious trade discussions. But, after GM Bryan Murray sat down with Redden and determined he didn’t want to be traded, the rumours died.
The Senators addressed the issue quickly. They didn’t wait until two days before the trade deadline to talk to Redden. They didn’t make Redden sit out practices so that he would be healthy in the event of a trade. The Senators tackled the problem head-on. And, after that, the media dropped the issue.
No-trade clauses are offered to players as an incentive to play in a given city. It is a guarantee that a player can buy a house and raise a family without having to worry about being traded to the other side of the continent.
Players like Mats Sundin deserve these kinds of guarantees. After all, Sundin has devoted his entire career to the Toronto Maple Leafs. He is the heart of that hockey team and he deserved better than the treatment he received.
It’s time for Toronto fans to show Sundin how much he means to them.
Fans need to stop talking about how much Toronto could have gained by trading Sundin and start talking about how much he brings to the team.
Sundin has been loyal to the Leafs his entire career. It shouldn’t be too much to ask for fans to be loyal to him for a change.