Firstly, the Predators want Alexander Radulov to make up his mind by September 1 on whether or not he'll honor (which is a word not in Radulov's vocabulary) the rest of his contract with Nashville.

"We know he signed over in Russia but we are asking him to reconsider and to make a decision to come back," Preds GM David Poile said. "… We feel Alex is a very, very good young player with a great future ahead of him. We feel he got some bad advice in this situation and hope eventually he will want to return to play with best players in the world in the best league in the world.

"But having said that, we don’t want to force him to come back until he wants to come back. That is not good for Alex or for his teammates. As of Sept. 1, we’re moving on."

Tough place for Poile to be in. He also tells the Tennessean that if Radulov signs a 1 year deal with Russia, that Nashville would re-address Radulov coming back next season. Say what? If he bails on his current contract, why the hell would Poile take him back again? Let the dishonorable bugger go, or become someone else's problem. Easy for me to say though.

Secondly, Flyers' GM Paul Holmgren has now made it clear publicly that he is basically tired of Waiting for Sundin. From the Vancouver Sun, of all places:

"Personally, I'd like it to all go away," Holmgren told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "What's the sense when we don't even know if he's going to play yet?"

It appears Mike Gillis has much more patience than Holmgren. Some are saying that maybe Gillis should put the heat on as well. I wouldn't. Let Holmgren run his mouth. Gillis can be the nice guy. Like that makes any difference, right? Nice guys finish last don't they?
What the hell would Holmgren possibly do to shed enough salary to take on a Sundin contract? Obviously, he must have a few potential deals in limbo while he waits for Mats. Those deals could, or would have to resemble blockbuster status. That is probably where the impatience is coming from.
Some people wonder why all of this attention about indecisiveness is focussed on Sundin and less on Joe Sakic and Teemu Selanne. Well that is an easy answer. Sakic is great, yes. But his loyalties lie solely with the Avalanche. So there isn't much mystery there except mostly for Avalanche fans. As a Canucks fan, I hope he doesn't come back because I want the Avs in the Northwest Division basement.
Teemu Selanne still has a lot left in the tank. But he has already pulled this hooplah before. So he's a repeat offender of indecisiveness. Blah, blah, been there done that, who really cares that much about Buzz Lightyear anyways?
Want some speculation? Maybe the Avalanche will lure Sundin if Sakic decides to retire (e2...ha). Lord knows they can't afford both Sakic AND Sundin at the same time. But the loss of Burnaby Joe would have Avs GM Giguere in need of a #1 center. We also know that the Avs have little problem luring high calibre players. So cue the Sundin-to-Colorado rumors. It would make sense, if the Swede decided he wants to play and would make much more sense than him going to Montreal, the Rangers or Flyers. And don't forget that Forsberg is loyal to Colorado if he returns a few months into the season. Hey, you'd have to think that Sundin and Forsberg have at least discussed that since they've been golfing so much lately.
If Sundin does end up in Colorado, we will have the right to assume/speculate that he was waiting for Sakic's decision all along.
Just throwing that concept out there.
Either way, Holmgren getting tired of waiting and maybe "putting some pressure on" Sundin won't affect Mats' timeline. But we do know that the last thing Sundin said was that he would like to make a decision by the end of August.

T Tags: Mats+Sundin Alex+Radulov decision+time Flyers Avalanche Predators