As of Monday, talks were still going nowhere between Daniel Alfredsson's camp and the Ottawa Senators on a new extension for the much-beloved captain.
Enter owner Eugene Melnyk and his Florida ranch. The team went there Tuesday for an outing, and we're told a private conversation between the owner and Alfredsson was a turning point. GM Bryan Murray and Alfredsson's agent J.P. Barry then hammered it out. The deal was essentially agreed to around 8 p.m. Wednesday evening but didn't get done officially until Thursday morning because of the legal work involved.
It's a complicated extension because the two sides were breaking up a pre-lockout contract that had three option years left beyond this season. Alfredsson had a clause in that deal that allowed him to break free from those options years if he played 70 games this season and reached 70 points. Since those years paid him only $3.8 million a year (originally $5 million but rolled back 24 percent by the new CBA), that's the original reason contract talks began earlier this month in Sweden. He was worth more, and both sides knew it.
Here's the breakdown on the new four-year, $21.6 million extension:
• On July 1 Alfredsson gets a $2.1 million "accelerated payment" for the removal of the option years from the old deal.
• 2009-10 season: $7 million in total ($3 million signing bonus, $4 million in salary).
• 2010-11: $7 million ($3 million signing bonus, $4 million in salary).
• 2011-12: $4.5 million ($2.5 million signing bonus, $2 million salary).
• 2012-13: $1 million salary.
It all adds up to $21.6 million for Alfredsson, who is earning $5.465 million this season. The salary cap hit starting in '09-10 will be around $5.4 million a season.
More Leafs
Call this a companion blog to my Leafs column that went up Thursday. Two issues of interest that I didn't think fit in the column, but I should get to here in this forum:
One is Mats Sundin. The longtime Toronto captain is working out in L.A. as he gets ready for a probable comeback to the NHL. The question is, will it be back in Toronto? Or perhaps the better question is, do the Leafs really want him back? After all, they are rebuilding.
"Mats, over the last 13 seasons, has been one of the greatest players in the history of the Leafs franchise," Leafs GM Cliff Fletcher told ESPN.com this week. "I mean if Mats wants to come back and finish his career with us, we'd welcome him with open arms. He could be part of accelerating the process for the team to get better because any team that has Mats Sundin is a better team than if they don't have him."
And what about the head coach? Ron Wilson made a comment in September about the lack of leadership on the Leafs last season, one that was automatically portrayed as a shot at Sundin. Not so, Wilson told ESPN.com this week. And he was more than happy to clear the air on that one.
"I said, in general, there was a leadership problem here -- in general," said Wilson. "Leadership isn't one guy, it's 4-5 guys coming together and leading that way. You can have Mark Messier, who everybody says is the greatest captain of all time, not make the playoffs seven years in a row to complete his career. How is that possible? Because he wasn't surrounded. A leader is only as good as the people around him.
"I have not heard one bad word said about Mats Sundin," continued Wilson. "I was talking about a core group of guys who had basically worn out their welcome here and had to be moved on because it just wasn't clicking anymore. My answer was in response to a question where the reporter said we had absolutely no leadership on this roster, all the leaders had gone. And my answer to that was, 'You call that leadership? The team hasn't made the playoffs the last three years and about six management people have lost their jobs. Where do you call that leadership?' And that's the truth. And then suddenly it's, 'he must mean Mats Sundin.' I didn't mean Mats Sundin.
"I've had one long talk this summer with Mats Sundin and if he came back I think we would get along incredibly."
Interesting to note that the Vancouver Canucks were in L.A. to play the Kings on Thursday night. Figure Sundin might catch the game? Canucks GM Mike Gillis says his two-year, $20 million offer remains on the table for the Big Swede.
OK, back to the Leafs with issue No. 2 -- the GM job. Right now it's Fletcher in a caretaker role until Toronto hires its permanent man. Does Fletcher want the job outright?
"Their plan here is bring a top hockey man here and I agree with that plan," said Fletcher. "I'm just happy to be here, and I hope when the day comes and I do leave the general manager's position, I leave the team and the organization in pretty good shape for whoever comes in and follows me."
Richard Peddie, the CEO and president of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, said a new GM will be in place before next season.
"Absolutely. Cliff's interim -- he wants to be in Italy next year," cracked Peddie.
"But he has full autonomy to do what he thinks is right, and we like what he's done so far."
Pierre LeBrun
