Jonas Gustavsson News: There Still Isn't Any

But according to Steve Buffery's story in the Toronto Sun, he hopes to make a decision in the next few days after vacationing in the south of Sweden. Which I hear is lovely this time of year with really long days.

Which creates the perfect atmosphere for bikini wearing by Swedish women.

As to what the deciding factor will be...

"It's hard to explain," said Gustavsson, when asked what his final decision will rest upon. "I'm going to make a decision on what feels right inside. Right now, I'm going to rest for a couple of days and relax and see what is right for me."

Gustavsson said money will not be a deciding factor. Under the terms of the CBA, the most any NHL team can pay Gustavsson this season is $900,000 US, although that could increase substantially with bonuses.

What Gustavsson would say about Toronto and the Leafs in particular, is that he likes the city (he also visited Toronto a few years ago while attending the Steve Davies goaltender school) and is impressed with the organization and Burke.

"He's a nice guy," said Gustavsson, who obviously has yet to experience Burke when the GM's temper is up

[...]

Still, as he reiterated a number of times, Gustavsson said his final decision will be based as much on a gut feeling -- what he feels in his heart -- as anything else.

[UPDATE by Brandon Worley, 07/05/09 11:18 AM EDT ] Mark Stepneski at Andrew's Dallas Stars Page points us to an Andy Strickland article at HockeyBuzz.com.  Strickland makes this note about the Stars recruiting tactics and some interesting notes about Brian Burke's time in Europe:

Stars forward Fabian Brunnstrom and Jonas Gustavsson had dinner together Saturday night in Sweden as Brunnstrom tries to convince his buddy to sign with Dallas. Gustavsson, who is expected to soon make a decision as to where he'll take his game this season, also had dinner with Toronto D-man Jonas Frogren earlier in the week.

[snip]

Les Jackson from the Dallas Stars recently traveled to Sweden to meet with Gustavvson as well.

It was reported that Leafs GM Brian Burke traveled to Sweden on July first to meet with Gustavsson but we recently learned Burke was actually there hoping to meet with the Sedin twins. It wasn't until after Burke landed in Sweden that he learned the Sedins re-signed with Vancouver. Burke and Gustavsson never got together this week in Sweden.

I think that last part is very interesting. When Stars fans heard that Burke was in Sweden there was worry that he was going further in his recruitment attempts than the Stars were, especially with Joe Nieuwendyk still stateside. I've been fairly confident that the Stars have a contigent in Sweden ever since the draft, and that Les Jackson has spent time there as well. Remember, the Stars have a strong group of scouts in Sweden and keep a presence there nearly year-round.

Granted, this is Strickland and HockeyBuzz I'm linking to. So take this news with a grain of salt, if you must.