Did Prime Time Sports in Toronto this afternoon, Mike Toth guest-hosting again for Bob McCown (does anybody get more holiday time than McCown? He should have been a Member of Parliament, not a talk-show host, if it wasn't for that pesky citizenship requirement). Anyway, Toth wanted my take on Mats Sundin, given that he was not going to sign with the Montreal Canadiens before tomorrow's free-agent frenzy begins. Part of what we do in this industry is work sources for information; part of it is reading the tea leaves. In Sundin's case, you need to do a little of both, since he was always going to decide his playing future on his own timetable, never mind the fact that the Canadiens stepped up and acquired his exclusive negotiating rights at the entry draft.

Even if Sundin wasn't prepared to commit to the Canadiens within that 10-day window, my instincts suggest that a) he isn't going to retire, because he's coming off one of his best seasons in recent memory and still has some hockey left to play; and b) when he communicates that decision to his agent J.P. Barry, the Canadiens will be the most attractive destination out there.
The only way Montreal is not a player for Sundin's rights, whenever he is ready to start contract negotiations, is if they win, against long odds, the Marian Hossa sweepstakes. Hossa is the top forward up for grabs tomorrow; Brian Campbell the premier defenceman; and Hossa's long-time of suitors will include two-thirds of the Original Six teams in the NHL (Montreal, Boston, New York, Detroit), plus Pittsburgh, where he finished last season. Even Edmonton and San Jose will make overtures. Campbell will get offers from half-a-dozen teams, beginning with the Sharks, but also including Chicago, Ottawa and Atlanta. What'll be really interesting is what happens when Campbell makes his choice, at which point the runners-up that need a boost on the blue line will either turn to Wade Redden as a free-agent possibility, or one of a trio of defencemen that'll be dangled as trade bait: Mathieu Schenider in Anaheim, Joni Pitkanen in Edmonton and Dan Boyle in Tampa, who starts a six-year, $40 million contract extension signed back in February with the team next season, which will include a no-trade clause (usually they kick in on July 1).

The Ducks need more salary-cap relief, even after buying out Todd Bertuzzi on the weekend; moving Schneider would provide that. Even so, nothing's going to stand in the way of Corey Perry's contract extension. The Ducks privately told Perry more than six months ago that they would offer a contract comparable to the extension Ryan Getzlaf signed before Christmas; the only reason they didn't do it earlier was because of the “tagging” implications of the CBA, which is what forced them into trading away Andy McDonald in the first place. Signing Perry before July 1 was unnecessary and would have cost them another player on the roster; but they'll get to that piece of business as soon as the CBA permits them to do so.