Giving New Meaning to Doubt

All summer I've read countless articles about arguably the best free agent left on the market at this point whose name we all know as Mats Sundin. Everyone, including myself, thought on July 1st, when free agency began, he'd have a home right away. If you had told me by Sept. 16th he'd still remained unsigned and unsure of where or if he even wanted to play, I'd say you're nuts. So, to all the head cases out there? Kudos to you...

Most of those articles named the Rangers as a likely suitor for Sundin's services, but the idea seemed too far fetched. Sundin, on Broadway, playing along side Jagr (a Ranger at the time), Gomez, and Drury? To me it felt too familiar to the Rangers of old; spending beyond their intelligence and basically buying their tee-times for May. However, in the days to follow, Jagr would leave along with his fellow friend Martin Straka, and always controversial and Vogue's best summer intern, Sean Avery. So, the Sundin notion started to make a bit more sense. Then, Glen Sather kicked the tires off on one the busier Rangers off-seasons in a while; a cleansing of sorts, getting younger, grittier, and faster by adding the likes of Zherdev, Voros, Rismiller, Kalinin etc. Now, the identity of the Rangers has changed. Other than Markus Naslund, another key off-season addition (the new Jagr if you play addition by subtraction here), no one is over the age of 31. The Rangers have become one of the youngest teams in the league in basically a blink of an eye. And, factoring the bonuses still owed to players, including Brendan Shanahan's from last season, Sather's expenses are right near the threshold of the Salary Cap ceiling. Once again, Sundin to NYR seems unlikely.

It's nearly 3 weeks till opening night in Prauge on Oct 4th. The Rangers are just beginning training camp. They're still right under the cap. Sundin is still in doubt about playing. All interesting factors to keep an eye on until the season starts. That aside, let me tell you what the Rangers should and NEED to do regarding Sundin; stay away from him. Buyer beware and here's why...

Despite the fact that he's 37, he can still produce (a 30g, 30a man last year). A team leader (captain of the Leafs for years). The possible missing piece to make this team an elite force in the East some experts say. But those aren't the reasons why I dont want him. It's very simple. He has shown no desire, no hunger, to play this season and win a Stanley Cup. Its nearly October and he still hasn't made up his mind and pretty soon it'll be too late. The Rangers need guys passionate about winning and have the desire to compete night in and night out. This season has a lot of outside variables seemingly working against the Rangers success this season. Too many things have to work out just right. At this point, I question Mats Sundin's desire. You have to if you're serious about winning. Plus, like I mentioned before, this team's identity has shifted to a younger, hungrier team. Mats Sundin doesn't fit into that. He's your veteran presence that you're hoping has enough left to provide enough production to win you games. It's another "what if" on the already hefty list and not close enough to a sure thing. Mats, despite your great talents and accomplishments, you're giving new meaning to the word doubt. I'll have to pass on you.

Until next time...

J. W.