A message for Mats part 2
Sorry, Pete. But Mats did the “right thing” in the end (see prior post “A message for Mats” July 5-08). Here are some excerpts from my much-maligned summer post:
I’m assuming that you’ve saved some money over the years. But with the Dow Jones hitting bear market territory, relying on capital gains to finance the next 40 or 50 years is a risky proposition. And you will probably want to help put your grandkids through University someday.
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$20 million is a barrel of money. But it has to last a very long time unless you follow in the footsteps of John McEnroe, Johnny Miller and Tony Gabriel and work hard at a new job soon after retirement. Even then, no one is paying these guys their former rate to show up to work each day.
It’s a long life. $20 million secures your family’s financial future. Take the Vancouver offer. Your true fans in Hogtown will understand.
There were more than a few people who were convinced that I was being, umm, shallow. Pete, in particular:
Mark, it’s not always about money…
Case in point – Marian Hossa just turned down better offers (more money AND long term deals) to play for contender Detroit.
If Mats plays next year it will probably be for Toronto or Montreal. (anyways Vancouver is too far and wet) I think he’ll stay with the “mighty” Leafs.
Some people do mature (even pro athletes) when they hit their 30s or 40s and actually make life decisions based not only on the bottom line. Mats seems to be going through a life change that only he knows about and I’m sure the ’scratch’ has little to do with it.
Since then, the Dow Jones 30 has dropped from 11,232 to 8,604. Let’s imagine that Mr. Sundin had some of his hard earned capital in the market. He’s down something like 23.4% since he turned down Vancouver’s two-year $20 million offer. Unless he had a bunch of hedge funds, that is. That component could be off twice that much.
Pete might have been right at the time. But brutal Bear markets can make people do crazy things. Just ask Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich, New York Lawyer Marc S. Dreier, and Bernard L. Madoff.
Given the relative records, Vancouver (18-11 vs. the Leaf’s 12-12) stands a better chance of making the playoffs in any event. So it may well be all about the hockey, after all.
MRM
Last I heard, Sundin was all set to go to New York until he found out his financial planner had “diversified” 95% of his wealth into the Madoff Ponzi Fund. Oh well, back to square one…
Mark is right, and I am wrong, as usual…money talks and bullshit walks…the way of the world.
Question to ponder in that case…if he went for the cash why wait until now? The 20 mil, 2 year offer from the Canucks was on the table early last summer. Do you think he was hoping that by waiting, someone would top it? The Yankees don’t play in the NHL, and there’s a cap to boot.
In closing, I’d prefer to wait for the proof to trickle in, before believing in your cash-grab theory. There’s more to it than that, we will surely find out soon enough.
Disclosure: I hate you Mats! 😛
petetoth> Question to ponder in that case…if he went for the cash why wait until now?
Agree.
By the way, Mark, I wasn’t implying that YOU were being shallow, although looking back at the comment it might have come across that way.
I think very highly of you, always have, even though I haven’t always shown it. My apologies.
Cheers, mate…seeing you again was the highlight of my trip.
Disclosure: Maybe I’ve had one too many beer 😉