Well, I'm surprised. The Rangers must not have been able to clear enough payroll to make this happen:

Vancouver Canucks General Manager Mike Gillis today announced that the team has signed free agent centre Mats Sundin. In keeping with club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We are very excited to have Mats join the Vancouver Canucks,” said Mike Gillis, Vancouver Canucks General Manager. “Playing previously in two Canadian markets and consistently being among team and League leaders in scoring, Mats has proven that he can excel under pressure. He adds a wealth of experience, leadership and skill to the Canucks.”

"I am truly excited to be joining the Canucks,” said Sundin. “Once I made the decision to return to play a few weeks ago, the Vancouver opportunity was simply the best overall fit. I want to thank Mike Gillis and the entire Canucks organization for their professionalism throughout this entire process."

This will be huge, huge news in Vancouver, which normally treats minor transactions with a ton of interest. I'll be in B.C. for Christmas in a few days, too, perhaps in time for his first game as a Canuck.

Vancouver's next game is this Saturday at home against Chicago. It will be on Hockey Night in Canada.

If Sundin signed that $10-million offer that was on the table in the summer, it would now be worth about $6.25-million given there is just more than 60 per cent of the season to go. Vancouver had about $8.3-million in cap space but would likely want to leave some wiggle room come the trade deadline.

It's going to be pretty interesting to see when Roberto Luongo comes back from what is reportedly a pretty serious groin issue. Sundin may provide more offence, but they need their No. 1 goaltender to have a chance in the Western Conference.

Sundin becomes the fifth Swede on Vancouver's roster, something that I'm sure played a role in his decision. I'll have thoughts on how much he improves the Canucks later tonight.

UPDATE The Leafs fans over at Pension Plan Puppets aren't amused. I'm not sure Sundin had a way to win them over after all the nonsense that's gone on.

UPDATE Reports on the contract have it at just under $6-million. Darren Dreger on TSN had it at $5.6-million, which would prorate to about $9-million over a full season.

UPDATE Sundin apparently won't be in action until after Christmas, likely the team's Dec. 28 game against the Senators in Vancouver. That date is likely to account for the discrepancies in what exactly he'll be paid.