FanHouse MikeGillis

Capitals 3, Panthers 0: After getting blown out on Monday, the Washington Capitals rebounded on Tuesday by picking up a 3-0 win in Florida. Jose Theodore, coming off a disastrous performance in Atlanta, stopped all 19 shots he faced to earn his second shutout of the season. Viktor Kozlov, Brooks Laich and Mike Green all scored for the Capitals, while Alex Ovechkin picked up an assist, as he's still looking for goal No. 50 on the season.

For the Panthers, it's a costly loss as a win would have put them back into the top eight in the Eastern Conference. They're certainly picking a bad time to hit a slump, as the Panthers have dropped four in a row and five of their past six.

With Mats Sundin signed and ready to play, and captain Roberto Luongo back in net, some idiot wrote on FanHouse that the Canucks were rounding into form as a Western Conference contender. After all, they had a bunch of home games, they had weathered the storm while Luongo was out, and Sundin was going to give them a pivot for their second line.

It all made sense on paper. But, as we learn all the time, hockey is a game best played on ice, not paper. The Canucks have gained exactly two points in their last seven games, and along the way, they've found some creative ways to lose games. Wednesday night, it was the penalty kill's turn.

Earlier this week, word surfaced that Mats Sundin would be making his decision as to where to play the remainder of this season (and perhaps beyond) on Thursday -- which would be today. For much of the day, it didn't look like that was going to happen. But, hark, it has! And the winner of the great Sundin derby is none other than the Vancouver Canucks.

General manager Mike Gillis on the signing, courtesy of the Canucks website:

"We are very excited to have Mats join the Vancouver Canucks," said Mike Gillis, Vancouver Canucks General Manager. "Playing previously in two Canadian markets and consistently being among team and League leaders in scoring, Mats has proven that he can excel under pressure. He adds a wealth of experience, leadership and skill to the Canucks."

Terms of the deal have not yet been released, but the numbers thrown around in the days, weeks and months leading up to this were in the ballpark of two years, $20 million.

He's 37 years old, and led the Maple Leafs in scoring a season ago with 78 points (32 goals, 46 assists). He's scored 555 goals in his 17-year career, and joins a Vancouver team that is currently tied for the top spot in the Northwest Division with an 18-11-3 mark.

The Rangers were the other team in the running for Sundin's services, but would have had to clear significant cap space to sign the 37-year old center.

Free agent forward Mats Sundin has been taking his sweet time in deciding where to play this season, and it appears our long wait is about to end, as the 38-year old forward is going to announce his decision on Thursday. The two teams in the running? Vancouver and the New York Rangers.

CBC quotes Canucks general manager Mike Gillis as saying, "He is going to make a decision Thursday about the final destination."

The CBC report makes mention that Gillis met with Sundin's agent, J.P. Barry, on Tuesday and the two-year, $20 million dollar offer from this offseason is, apparently, still on the table if Sundin wants it (and who wouldn't!).

The one thing the Canucks have going for them in this race is the fact they already have the salary cap room needed to take on Sundin's salary. The Rangers, however, do not -- as of right now. Though, might I offer a suggestion to clear at least some of it? Send Petr Prucha to Pittsburgh for a bag of pucks. He needs a change of scenery in the worst way possible, and the Penguins are seriously lacking young wingers with any sort of scoring ability. Hey, just trying to help.

Normally when a new GM holds his first press conference, he beams about how happy he is to be there, how he'll mold the team into a Stanley Cup contender, and thank ownership to giving him the opportunity to run the franchise (into the ground).

With player-agent-turned-GM Mike Gillis, it didn't quite work that way. Showing that you can never quite change your stripes, Gillis was in full 'agent' mode, and on the attack against the guy he took the team over from: Dave Nonis.

"I don't think this team is close at this particular point," said Gillis, doling out his harsh dose of reality just one week after Nonis declared the team was "very close" to competing for a championship.

Translation: Nonis was full of crap, and the team he put together wasn't very good.

"You can't blame a coach for doing everything he possibly can to win hockey games based on the assets he is given," Gillis said.

Translation: What do you expect Vigneault to do with the crap Nonis gave him?

"A couple of very good decisions, or a couple of really bold decisions might put this team in a position to win almost immediately. I'm hoping to be able to take advantage of those opportunities as quickly as we can."

Translation: Even though I said the team wasn't close to winning, I'm so awesome that with a quick wave of my magic wand, the Canucks will be back to tearing up the Avalanche like a starving Panda in a bamboo forest.

You can bet that quite a few GMs around the league (Kevin Lowe, especially) won't be too happy or willing to deal with Gillis, the guy who has ripped them off many times, especially if Gillis keeps acting like the boastful ass that he's always been. Yes, there is a lot of truth to what he is saying, but chopping up the former GM of the club shows that Gillis has too much ego to pump up, and that is a worrisome sign for Canucks fans.