Is Sundin Vancouver Bound?

by Farhan Devji
July 20, 2008 @ 4:01 AM ET

Late Saturday night, a story written by Dusan Umicevic – sports reporter of the leading Swedish daily morning newspaper, Dagens Nyheter (DN) – broke that Mats Sundin has indeed decided to accept Vancouver’s two year, $20 million offer.

The story suggests that J.P. Barry – Sundin’s North American agent – declined to negotiate with the KHL (new Russian league) on the grounds that the long time Maple Leaf is set on joining the Vancouver Canucks.

Claes Elefalk – Sundin’s Swedish based agent - was interviewed by the Swedish daily and acknowledged that he talked to the Canucks on Friday. Elefalk believes Vancouver was one of the front runners, but wasn’t aware of the new developments.

When contacted, the author of the piece, Dusan Umicevic, refused to reveal his source but suggested that “this man has never been wrong before.” Umicevic also admitted that he’s “built [his] whole career upon this person.”

Just like the entire Vancouver Canucks organization and all of its supporters, Umicevic is hoping that his source won’t fail him now.

“Sure, this could be his first [blemish], but I hope not, because my reputation lies on this,” said Umicevic. “But I think [Mats] will speak soon. I think Vancouver is the right team for him.”

Television stations in Sweden are reporting that Sundin will join the Canucks, but none of the leading hockey news sites – in Sweden or North America - have picked up on the story as of yet.

Another source stated that judging solely on the reliability of the newspaper in which the story was published, he is convinced that Sundin will be a Canuck in the near future.

UPDATE: I can now also confirm that the author’s source is indeed one close to the the Kontinental Hockey League (new elite Russian league). The source has correctly predicted several signings including Jaromir Jagr to Avangard Omsk, Nils Ekman to Khimik, Andreas Johansson to SKA Saint Petersburg, and Mika Hannula to HC CSKA Moscow.

UPDATE #2: As of Saturday night, Mike Gillis was not aware of the alleged new developments in the Sundin saga, but is hopeful that the recent rumblings are true, according to a source close to the Canucks' General Manager.

Farhan Devji is the author of a hockey based novel, “The Hockey Farmer.” For more information, visit thehockeyfarmer.ca.tp.

About the Author: Farhan Devji

In addition to writing for Inside Hockey, Farhan Devji is a feature writer for Canucks.com, an accredited Canadian Hockey League writer, and the author of The Hockey Farmer. For more of his work, or for a means to contact him, visit http://www.farhandevji.com.