SADOWSKI: Take a shot at getting Sundin

By Rick Sadowski, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published December 4, 2008 at 4:35 p.m.

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Photo by Dave Sandford / Getty Images

Mats Sundin is an unrestricted free agent and at 37 is two years younger than Avalanche captain Joe Sakic.

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The Avalanche is in quite a bind, having lost captain Joe Sakic for at least six weeks with a herniated disk in his back.

Seems to me, general manager Francois Giguere has to make a move for a center, unless he really believes either Tyler Arnason (two goals in 24 games) or 22-year-old T.J. Hensick (one goal in 13 games) can carry the load for such an extended period as the No. 2 center behind Paul Stastny.

Another option is moving Wojtek Wolski from left wing to the middle - that was a possibility in the summer, when Sakic was pondering whether to come back for another season - but then you are leaving a hole on the wing.

There is another alternative: Trying to persuade a certain Swede to come to Colorado.

No, not that one.

How about Mats Sundin, an unrestricted free agent who has been working out in the Los Angeles area?

At 37, he's two years younger than Sakic, and he can still play. Sundin, who played his first four NHL seasons with the Quebec Nordiques, had 32 goals and 78 points for Toronto last season, and he's durable. Sundin has never played in fewer than 70 games in his NHL career, except for the lockout- shortened 1994-95 season, when he played in 47 of the league's 48 games.

Sundin does have a standing offer from Vancouver for $20 million over two years, a price that is way too steep for the Avalanche, and he would prefer to join a Stanley Cup contender.

Even so, it would definitely be worth giving his agent, J.P. Barry, a call. The worst that could happen is, he says no thanks.

It can't hurt to give it a try.

Avery tarnishes all

Avalanche forward Ian Laperriere is hardly surprised Sean Avery is in trouble again, this time for making crude, calculated remarks after a morning skate about Calgary Flames defenseman Dion Pfaneuf and his girlfriend, Elisha Cuthbert.

Avery, a Dallas Stars forward, has been suspended by the NHL and had a hearing Thursday with league commissioner Gary Bettman.

Laperriere has made no secret of his dislike for Avery since the time they were teammates in Los Angeles.

"As hockey players, we like to think that we're just normal guys that got lucky with a gift, and this guy wants to be different, the dark horse of all of us," Laperriere said. "That's what drives me nuts - we work so hard to keep a clean image, and then you've got a guy like that who goes out of his way to be the bad guy. He got exactly what was coming to him."

The Stars signed Avery to a four-year, $15.5 million contract as a free agent last summer, but coach Dave Tippett has made it known the abrasive wing is no longer welcome in the locker room.

"From a coach's standpoint, I try to build a team that has an atmosphere where players care about each other and play with each other and play with continuity, and I find it hard to believe that Sean could come back in that dressing room and we could find that continuity again," Tippett told reporters.

"It's frustrating for me to go out and defend the guy. It's disappointing because, in the morning, with all the stuff going on in the media, I approached Sean and asked him if he was going to talk to media. He told me no. He talked to our (public- relations) people and he told them, no, he wasn't going to talk to the media.

"And to have a calculated response like that . . . it was a calculated statement for what I feel was personal gain."

The Stars could try to trade Avery, but it's doubtful any teams would be interested. The Stars would still have to pay Avery if they send him to the minors, but his contract wouldn't count against the salary cap. They could also buy him out just to get rid of a selfish player that has become too much of a distraction and nuisance.

It's not you, coach . . .

Peter Laviolette is the second American-born coach to learn that winning a Stanley Cup doesn't guarantee a whole lot of job security.

Laviolette was fired Wednesday, three years after guiding the Carolina Hurricanes to the league championship. He joins John Tortorella, who led the Tampa Bay Lightning to a title in 2004.

Dismissing Laviolette, who coached the 2006 U.S. Olympic team, didn't come as a complete shock because the Hurricanes missed the playoffs the past two seasons, have lost eight of their past 12 games this year and are barely holding on to the eighth and final postseason spot in the Eastern Conference.

The surprise was bringing back Paul Maurice as Laviolette's replacement. Maurice is the winningest coach in franchise history with 268 wins in 674 regular-season games. But in his nine full seasons behind an NHL bench - the past two with the Maple Leafs - Maurice's teams have missed the playoffs six times and been bounced in the first round twice.

Maurice was the Hurricanes' coach in 2002, when they advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals and lost to Detroit. He was fired 30 games into the 2003-04 season.

Hall of Famer Ron Francis, who was an assistant to general manager Jim Rutherford and the team's director of player development, will serve as associate coach and could be in line for the head coaching position next year.

"If you look at where we're at, you know why the change was made," captain Rod Brind'Amour told The (Raleigh) News & Observer. "It's not so much our record as just the way we've been playing. When you have a coaching change, there's a reason, and it's not always the coach. It's guys not performing, and being one of those guys, you feel it because you cost (Laviolette) his livelihood."

NUMBERS GAME

3 seconds of playing time in a recent game for Minnesota Wild enforcer Derek Boogaard, below, who spent more time (five minutes) in the penalty box for fighting the Nashville Predators' Wade Belak.

A TRUE SKYBOX

Owners of rooftop clubs overlooking Wrigley Field are seeking approval to sell tickets to the New Year's Day Winter Classic featuring the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings.

"It's a fierce rivalry. Interest is very high and ticket prices are very high," city alderman Tom Tunney told the Chicago Sun-Times. "There's an opportunity for the rooftops to do some business. The rooftops will have a saleable seat. Center ice is around second base."

Rooftop club owner Tom Gramatis said the demand for tickets is "the biggest thing ever," but he has cut his prices in half - to $200, including food and drink - because of the poor economy.

SIGNS OF CONSCIENCE

Three Vancouver Canucks players - Alex Burrows, Ryan Kesler and Taylor Pyatt - pulled out of a scheduled signing session at a collectibles store, saying the $30 price for an autograph was too steep.

"I don't think I'm worth $30," Burrows said. "Not my autograph. You can't even recognize my autograph, so I don't think it would make sense. I don't want to be the kind of guy to do something like that."

HE SAID IT

"I don't mean to knock my team, but there's a big difference in talent level here."

Ron Wilson, Toronto Maple Leafs coach, on a 5-2 loss to his former team, the San Jose Sharks.

We all scream for ...

Forward Ryan Shannon had a unique way of describing how he felt after suffering a concussion that kept him out of the Ottawa Senators' lineup for six games.

"It was kind of like an ice-cream headache," he told The Ottawa Sun. "You know, when you eat too much and you get brain freeze."

Shannon was injured in a Nov. 13 game when he was elbowed in the head by the New York Islanders' Thomas Pock, who was given a five-game suspension by the NHL.

Shannon had an assist Wednesday against Atlanta in his first game since being hurt, but Thursday, he was sent to Binghamton of the American Hockey League.

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