Is it just me, or is this ongoing saga of will he or won't he with Mats Sundin eerily similar to the whole Brett Favre circus from a few months back.  Let me preface what I'm going to say with I've always thought of Sundin as a class guy on top of being one of the best players in the game.
 
This all started at the trading deadline when he wouldn't wave his no-trade clause.  Toronto clearly wanted to move in another direction and knew they couldn't afford (or didn't want to) a contract of player who's been on the decline and will be another year older this season.  Hmm, Green Bay wanted to move in another direction with a young QB they drafted several years ago, while an aging legend with a big contract held the team in limbo on whether or not he was going to stay around after the season.
 
Once the season was over and free agency began, it looked like there would be a bidding war for his services.  It was rumored as many as six teams were vying for his services.  Then Sundin said he would make a decision by the beginning of August.  Well that date came and went and still no decision.  Then we hear that he's leaning toward retirement, holding the three teams still interested hostage.  When Lord Favre finally decided to come out of retirement after holding the Packers hostage, multiple teams expressed their interest in his services.
 
Now I've even heard that Bob Gainey has talked to the big Swede about playing versus retiring, and when he was asked if Sundin wanted to play for Montreal, Gainey's answer was "He didn't say no."  If it's taken him this long to decide, I believe he still has the desire to play.  Sundin should take a cue from Joe Sakic.  If the desire is there, even a little bit, he'll regret retiring.
 
I for one got tired of the Favre media circus by day two.  In my opinion, it tarnished the legend of a great QB and I think some of shine of Mats Sundin's class has been tarnished as well.