Among many other things, 37 year-old Toronto Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin is one hot commodity in what still remains of this offseason’s rather modest batch of free agents. He’s also making a name for himself as a measured, cautious decision maker - perhaps approaching the point of parody. Of course, at his age and with his record, he can afford such indulgences.

If you’re a masochist, try explaining that to the fans and management of the Vancouver Canucks. Coming off a disappointing 39-33-10 campaign in the 2007-2008 season culminating in their second failure to reach the playoffs in three attempts, the Canucks are once again in the midst of a roster makeover with most of this decade’s core now flipping through real estate catalogues in other cities. Chief among them is Markus Naslund, who left the Canucks in July to find a new role in New York, thus leaving Vancouver without a captain.

Even someone who doesn’t particularly care about hockey can probably connect the dots. With a great payroll burden lifted and another losing season to erase, Canucks GM Mike Gillis has been going after Sundin’s contract hard, putting down an offer worth $20 million over two years. This would make him the highest paid player in the game… that is, if he signs. But he won’t. Find out why after the break.

Money is no object to Mats. Let’s face it: a cool $20 million should theoretically be enough scratch to lure any player to any city. Even Edmonton! Yet, we’re still digging through trash and reading tea leaves trying to figure out why he hasn’t jumped on it. The answer, as Occam’s Razor teaches us, is simple: the cash just isn’t a factor, or at least not enough of one to make a difference. Here’s a man who has already made well over $100 million over the last twenty years. He’s set, his kids are set, their kids are set. There has to be more to the story than the numbers.

Sundin has never won a Stanley Cup. These things happen when you spend more than half of your career playing for the Leafs. If his return to the NHL this season is heavily dependent on his chances of resolving that unfinished business, Vancouver isn’t the likeliest of places to make it happen. A key player like Sundin on the roster along with Luongo in goal could change their fortunes, but the team is still in shambles. That said, if it were just a matter of winning the Cup, Sundin would’ve seen the writing on the wall and left Toronto for Detroit when he had the chance.

He wants to have an impact. There’s no doubt that the Canucks are in dire need of a player of Sundin’s abilities and that his presence would have both immediate and long-term effects on the organization. However, Vancouver is not alone in this regard; also in the running are Montréal and New York, two teams which would see just as much improvement with Sundin in the locker room as Vancouver without the possible hindrances of a recent roster explosion. Granted, New York is flirting dangerously with the salary cap as it is, but you have to believe that the Rangers would make room for Mats.

The media exposure in Canada might be too much. This is a hockey-crazy nation, there’s no disputing that. It’s an empirical fact of our cultural makeup. From October to June, you won’t find anything which permeates the Canadian collective consciousness quite like the NHL, especially in the cities lucky enough to still have franchises. Some players like Pavel Bure thrive in that kind of fish bowl, while others like Mats Sundin aren’t quite so thrilled by all the attention and go to ground. Vancouver would represent a lateral move in this area. In a place like New York he’d be able to hide in plain sight just as well as Brett Favre probably could in Toronto.

Switching conferences is no minor hurdle. The NHL has always been divided by more than just simple geography. The teams in the Western Conference play a much more physical game than the somewhat more European quick ‘n’ open affairs which we’ve come to associate with the East. Of course, this changes by club and coach, but the duality still exists. This is something which a lot of players have to come to terms with when moving across the continent; for Sundin, who has spent his entire career with eastern teams, the clash could be more than he’s willing to deal with.

Sundin doesn’t appear to be seeking another captaincy. As I mentioned earlier, the departure of Markus Naslund has left Vancouver without a leader. Mats Sundin has served as the Leafs’ captain for years now, but like Markus, the role has never defined him as a player in the same way as it has other players, such as Mark Messier. Could be this is why the Canucks didn’t include the captaincy in their offer sheet, however, with the C still vacant and news on the subject being just as scarce as that of Sundin’s future plans, it could be too easy a fit for the Canucks to make.

He loves Toronto. The reasons escape me, of course, as they do most Canadians outside Toronto, but for whatever reason Mats Sundin is just as crazy about the city as everyone else who lives there. Some of that is easily understandable; afterall, he’s been there long enough to call it his hometown. Should he decide to return to the NHL, comfort and nostalgia could easily win over relocation and a bigger paycheque, even if nothing short of Jesus on ice skates can help the Leafs improve their lot in life.

With all these reasons in mind, it’s time to consider the final possibility, which in my mind is by far the most likely.

He could be closer to retirement than we think. I’m sure Mats himself would be the first to tell you: he’s just not getting any younger. Even with his talent and conditioning allowing him to consistently post numbers on par or exceeding those of most players ten years his junior (no small feat if you consider the team he’s playing on) he might simply be too weary of lacing up his skates for another long season. The Canucks want two. Even if they settle for a single year at $10 million, would that still be too much to ask? Since he’s so far ignored two self-imposed deadlines and continues to wrestle with the question a scant week away from training camp, I would say yes.

Mere desire for another $20 million would’ve brought Sundin to Vancouver months ago. A need to remove himself from the public eye should’ve landed him in New York. Finally getting that elusive Stanley Cup ring means skipping town for Anaheim in 2007 or Detroit earlier in 2008. Hometown love is the ultimate trump card, yet he still waits. Why? In my opinion, Mats Sundin has skated his last.