Where in the World is Mats Sundin?

Okay boys, it's almost back to camp time and time for an attendance check.

Ovechkin? Check. Crosby? Check. Zetterberg? Check. Vinny? Check. Sundin?...Sundin? Anyone? Anyone?

Hockey Mom (along with many other fans world-wide) wants to know when Mats Sundin is going to get off the pot and make a decision to retire or sign with another team. There are even rumors swirling around that the New York Rangers may trade Scott Gomez to make cap room for the yet-undecided Swedish veteran. HM gets the fact that it takes a lot of time and thought to decide whether it's time to hang up the skates on an illustrious career. For most NHL players, hockey is all they've known since their youth and it's in their blood and enmeshed in their DNA! I'm sure the decision doesn't go down like this: "So Mabel (or insert name of hot hockey wife here), I've been thinking. I'm kinda tired of getting the tar knocked out of me every night and my feet are starting to hurt. Whaddya say I hang up the skates for good and we go fishing?"

But the stringing teams along routine (which occurs in other sports as well, see Brett Favre) while a player is trying to decide what to do about retirement issue is getting a bit old. For one, there's the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) to consider. HM doesn't even profess to completely understand the intricacies of the CBA in the least. But I do know, that once a player says they are going to retire (before they're ready) and then comes back to the team, some other guy gets misplaced due to salary cap limits. For a prime example, I refer to the case of the Anaheim Duck's Scott Neidermayer, whose return from a brief "semi-retirement" displaced one of my favorite players, Andy McDonald.

So hurry up Mats, the season's almost here...make a move finally!