John Derringer, morning radio show host on Q107 here in Toronto, can’t understand why Mats Sundin would want to stay in Toronto. He keeps going on about how it shows that Mats doesn’t want to win; how if Mats went to another team he could win the Cup; how staying in Toronto says that he wants to lose; how Mats claiming that he disagrees with the rental player is a farce.
What Derringer fails to recognize is that when the Leafs brought in “rental players” Mats, as Captain, can’t come out and say that he doesn’t want these players. How well would those trades work out? If you were the rental player in question, and your new Captain said he didn’t want you on his team, would you be willing to give 100% trying to help him win? I don’t think so.
And proving that Mats wants to win, he kept his opinions to himself and welcomed the rental players to the team.
Derringer’s assumption that since Mats doesn’t want to go and help another team win the Cup is wrong. He discards the idea that Mats is a Maple Leaf and wants to win as a Maple Leaf.
Mats Sundin is not the reason the Leafs have not won the Cup, nor been contenders for most of the last 40 years. MLSE is. The teams that win are driven by ego; the ego of their owners. The Leafs are owned by an investment company whose goal is the make as much profit as possible. Sure a trip into the playoffs would generate additional revenue, but it would also increase costs as all players have loaded contracts that reward them for making it to the playoffs, and often for their performance in the playoffs.
What we need is a rich SOB to buy the Leafs and turn this organization around.
