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.

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It just wouldn’t be the Stanley Cup playoffs without crazy 20-minute 5-on-5 overtime action. While this year’s postseason hasn’t been quite as prolific in that area as the ‘06-’07 campaign, at least we’ve got examples such as last night’s Game 6 contest between the struggling San Jose Sharks and the resurgent Dallas Stars, which provided us with a 69-minute quadruple overtime performance. That’s a doubleheader to you and me, Russ.

Such marathon sessions shouldn’t be too unfamiliar to the Stars, however. Why, just last year I was up well past 1AM - that’s Pacific, by the way; can’t imagine what it was like for fans on the east coast - watching my very own Vancouver Canucks (woefully absent in this year’s hunt for the cup, but nevermind that) gradually wear down the Dallas Stars for 78 extra minutes. My Canucks won that one; whether due to experience or fear of the wrath of Jennifer Floyd-Engels, the Stars took this one, allowing the Sharks to hit the green while Dallas meets Detroit in the Western Final.

Honestly, despite last night’s game being much more watchable than the Canucks/Stars showdown last year, it lacked a certain panache. There were no fans slowly constructing beeramids to pass the time, no intermission commentary teams doing the exact same thing, not as many bizarre on-ice accidents due to fatigue and oxygen deprivation… maybe next year.