Some Sundin News Soon?

It's Friday, August 22nd... do you know where your Mats Sundin is? The great speculator, Eklund, at HockeyBuzz.com suggests that the saga that is the big Swede, Sundin, may come to an end this weekend... only three weeks past the much-speculated August 1st deadline. Of course, I won't be the only one who says, 'I certainly hope so.'

We're now just a month away from most training camps getting started and there are many dominos still to fall, waiting for Sundin to make his mind up. If there are indeed six teams in the running for the big veteran, you can only imagine what the plans are for these squads. Some of the teams mentioned may have to shift some players just to fit Sundin into their plans, while other teams are more concerned about what they are going to do if Sundin doesn't choose their city to play in.

Of course, the big concern is whether or not Sundin even wants to play another year. Surely he does... he's only 37 and doesn't have a Stanley Cup on his resume. He's had to have spent enough time in the league to make the Cup his number one priority in his playing career, but if that was the case, he would have accepted that trade to Detroit in the summer. Saying that, if he doesn't have that sort of drive for the Cup, then maybe he should retire. Whichever way, it better be a 100% kind of decision... for everyone's sake.

Let's be quite clear... the Maple Leafs need Sundin as much as Sundin's heart would like to stay in Toronto. Will he be a winner in Toronto? No, of course not. Not this year and it will be at least a 3-year plan before the team can align the stars properly for a good Cup run.

Can the Leafs afford him? Oh sure, they have plenty of room left under the cap, especially for the $7 million they've rumoured to offer him for his services.

What would the Leafs get if he decided to re-sign with the club? They would certainly gain enough offense to win them a few more games than they would without him in the line-up. For pool consideration, Vesa Toskala would be a more attractive pick with Sundin in the line-up than without. The thing the Leafs didn't give Toskala a lot of last season was offensive help and they have done little to address that problem this summer.

If he doesn't sign with the Maple Leafs, what are they going to do? The easy answer to that question is suffer. The push to move Bryan McCabe will increase, but the players they get back will have to be somewhat offensive or else there is little gain, other than dumping a salary. Ponikarovsky and Blake will be the top two forwards in Toronto, which doesn't offer up a lot of hope, if nothing is done. Leafs fans will have to hope that Plan B is a good one.

Talking about a team that is in dire need of offense for winning now, the Canucks could definitely use a Mats Sundin to help put pucks in the opposition net so their franchise player, Roberto Luongo, doesn't have as much work to do to help the team win. The move for a number one centre like Sundin would also take a bundle of pressure off of the Sedin twins, who have been thrusted into the number one line role, especially now that Markus Naslund and Brendan Morrison are gone.

Can the Canucks afford Sundin? Well, they've left enough room under the cap to fit his $10 million per season deal in for this year, but then there's no more room for much more. It's a big gamble, but Sundin does have the consistency that a team would look for in a number one centre.

If he doesn't sign with Vancouver, what are they going to do? Thanks to the good old rumour mill, there is seemingly a number of deals waiting on the table for the Canucks, with all sorts of names being churned through to end up on the West Coast. Afinogenov, Parrish, Gionta, Vermette... all names that have been attached to the Canucks in recent weeks, but who's to say much of it is true at all. I suppose if the rumours are true, trades and such may actually bring more offense in two guys than $10 million spent on Sundin would. A little food for thought there for ya.

Let's say that Sundin works up enough desire to win a Cup in his NHL return, well then, wouldn't Montreal be the most fitting place for him to stop? The pieces are in place for a pretty good team in the coming season. The addition of Sundin to Toronto's biggest rivals would be quite the coup in Montreal, as they will have plucked their biggest star out from underneath them to give themselves the best chance to win the Cup. The whole build-up to the season would be all Canadiens, all the time on most of the sports channels, while all the Leafs fans would stew in their disappointment... which would also be mentioned on most of the sports channels.

What would the Habs get in Sundin, if they were to land him? Frankly, it's an excess of offense and a question on whether or not he'd be considered the number one centre or not. Sundin would likely be paired with Alexei Kovalev on the first line for the Habs, which theoretically, would boost Kovalev's fantasy value, well beyond the poor projections the Hockey News gave him. While Saku Koivu would likely get a chance to play with Alex Tanguay and a Kostitsyn brother. It is rather scary on paper, if you were to look at it right now. Carey Price's numbers would seemingly go up as well and it would be a dead heat on how many Canadiens are picked in your pool draft to the number of Penguins.

Can the Habs afford Sundin? If we called the going rate for Sundin (if we weren't too ambitious) $7 million for the year, then yes. The Habs have around $9 million to spend on three players, which inevitably means they won't start the season with the full compliment of 23 players on their roster. Maybe if Sundin goes to Montreal, they could move one of their veteran players for some breathing room and some prospects or picks, but the dynamic of the team really wouldn't shift too greatly.

What will the Habs do if they don't sign Sundin? Probably very little. With young players like Kyle Chipchura and Ryan O'Byrne waiting in the wings, the Habs can fill some of their holes with some quality youth, which may lessen their experience, but their skill is still high. They could very well keep a lot of cap room for the trade deadline in February, so they could possibly pick up Sundin then.

In the Big Apple, you can compare the Rangers to a 'Fun With Chemistry' set, but in this case, the chemistry is player chemistry and the kid unwrapping the gift is Glen Sather. The Rangers aren't known for spending a lot of money and getting good results, but that isn't stopping them from going after the biggest fish left in the free agent pond.

The first question has to be, 'can the Rangers afford Sundin?' Right now, they can't. They have very little cap space, around or below $2 million (depending who you ask), which is a far cry away from the $7 million they'll need to land him. So, rumours again swirl through our thought process, wondering who would be the first name out the door in order to reel in the big fish.

What would the Rangers gain with Sundin in their fold? For certain, the Rangers will get another big gun. Sundin can jump onto the Rangers depth chart at or very near the top and then the team would have three top quality pivots on their roster. The true gain, however, would have to be handicapped by what they trade away to make room for the big Swede. Right now, the Rangers have a good quality team with all of their additions, but the chemistry hasn't even been determined, which could be considered a good or a bad thing, when trying to add Sundin. I'm sure there is plenty of interest to have Sundin play with fellow Swede, Markus Naslund, in the coming year, which does pose a big threat to their opponents in the Eastern Conference, likely giving them extra consideration for a division win.

If the Rangers don't land Sundin, what happens then? Much like the Habs, Sundin is likely only considered a side of meat on a big plate of meat. If they can't have pork with their beef, then they'll settle for some veggies and the meal deal is complete for another year. With very little cap space available, there would definitely be a push for some of their youth to fill spots. Deals are certainly not out of the question, either, as you know Glen Sather is always lurking in the shadows, thinking of new and exciting ways to upgrade his team.

The Flyers are also one of the teams who are waiting in line to see if Sundin is going to return to the league in the coming year. Despite all the great work building the team with youth and some very complimentary players through free agency, the Flyers are seemingly interested in seeing how a big player like Sundin would fit into their mix. At best, they would likely be considered an outside shot, but in a lot of cases, throwing your hat in the public ring only has as much value as the other 24 teams raising an eyebrow at the thought of having Sundin in their mix in private.

Could the Flyers afford Sundin today? Oh gosh, no... they still have four holes to fill with $1.2 million. Sundin fits in their budget like the proverbial square peg into a round hole. Thankfully for Flyers fans, this should only be considered as passing interest and shouldn't be given too much weight. So, it won't be here. The team has too much going for it within it's own walls, so there is no need to be hasty when dropping big money on the free agent market.

Finally, there is one more team supposedly in the mix for Sundin, but as of right now, it's only under assumption that it's the Colorado Avalanche, who could be starving for some players by the end of the summer. The prospect of not having Joe Sakic back and not even getting the chance to have Peter Forsberg back until Christmas looks bad on the Avalanche. Obviously, the franchise who originally drafted Sundin in 1989 would like to have some sort of star playing for them up front, especially one with good leadership qualities that their youth system could look up to, even if it's only for one season.

Could the Avalanche afford a guy like Sundin? No Sakic. No Forsberg. Not having those two under contract should indicate that there is plenty of cap space for a guy like Sundin, but of course, the team would prefer to have Sakic under contract for another year than to maybe extend themselves out for Sundin. The decision on Sakic will hopefully coming just as soon as Sundin, which could lead to their own domino effect... but again, this is still just speculation that the Avalanche are even interested.