As the Toronto Maple Leafs try to hammer out a new contract with veteran all-star Mats Sundin, his former team in Sweden is calling him home.
Stockholm-based newspaper Expressen reports that Djurgarden IF of the Swedish Elite League has offered the Leaf captain a one-year deal.
No financial terms were disclosed, but sources tell TSN that the deal is worth just over $1 million. The offer was apparently made a few weeks ago.
When asked about the chances of Sundin returning to his old club, his Swedish agent maintained they are only negotiating a two-year extension with the Maple Leafs.
"We are now negotiating a new contract with Toronto," Claes Elefalk told Expressen Sunday night, according to TSN.
"If we can't agree, then Toronto can exercise their option clause on him. We're still trying to negotiate a two-year deal."
Contract talks are expected to pick up after Leaf general manager John Ferguson Jr. returns from the World Hockey Championship in Russia.
Sundin was taken first overall by the Quebec Nordiques in 1989, but played the following season with Djurgarden. He scored 10 goals and 18 points in 34 games there.
Sundin has led the Leafs in scoring in 11 of his 12 seasons with the team. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound centre earned US$7.6-million last season.
In 1,231 career games, the 36-year-old has 523 goals, which is 29th-best in NHL history. Sundin has 720 assists for 1,243 points, which puts him 33rd on the all-time league list.
As Leaf, he has 388 goals, one shy of Darryl Sittler's club record. Sundin's 905 points with the club is just 11 short of Sittler's team mark.
