Mats Sundin will remain with the Maple Leafs until at least the end of this season. Sundin, an unrestricted free agent in the offseason, refused to waive his no-trade clause despite the Leafs strong desire to move him prior to Tuesday’s 3 pm trade deadline. On the other hand, Marian Hossa and Brad Richards’ futures are still undecided. Meanwhile, Versus broke the story about yet another Flyers trade.

Many people expected the Thrashers to move Hossa, also an unrestricted free agent, to the Canadiens, but Atlanta’s management has not made any official decisions yet. Richards, the Lightning’s most expensive skater at 7.8 million per season for the next three years, is also on the trade block. In fact, Tampa Bay’s looking to deal defenseman Dan Boyle as well. Boyle is among 13 Lightning players who will be UFAs in the offseason.

In my opinion, I admire Sundin for his loyalty to the Maple Leaf’s organization. But, I believe that he made a huge mistake. The Leafs are one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference and will not make the playoffs for the third consecutive season. The organization has won danced with Lord Stanley since 1967, a span of over 40 years.

In addition, Sundin owns the franchise scoring record, including points, goals and overtime tallies. What else could a skater want before retirement?

Sundin is 37 years old. He will not win The Cup with Toronto, before he eventually retires.

Others think that he may move back home to Sweden during the offseason, remaining simultaneously unsigned and unretired. He may return later in the year, following the path of Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne.

I understand his sign of the issue as well. Sundin is not a youngster anymore. While he may have desired winning the Cup earlier in his career, he’s realized that’s not plausible. Nevertheless, Sundin feels comfortable in a Leafs sweater. It makes sense because Sundin has been with the organization since 1994.

Would you want to join a team as a "rental" after successfully playing for the most loyal hockey fans on earth?

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