Why Sundin Is More Valuable On The Team Than Off
It seems like media and fans alike have come together and decided that Mats Sundin’s welcome on this team has run out. From news articles, to message boards, to talk at the bar, everywhere you go you hear it. Mats Sundin is so valuable on the trade market that there is no excuse for Cliff Fletcher not finding a way to convince him to waive his NTC. What people don’t ever think of is that Sundin is without question the backbone of the team, and if he’s gone, there will be nothing to hold up the rest of the team during the rebuilding stages, which might be the worst possible situation to bring budding talent into.
People love the idea of Sundin to Detroit for a good young player and maybe a good pick, or Sundin to Anaheim for Edmonton’s first round pick, which should be a very good one. So let’s say it happens and when all is said and done, the Leafs will take home a good young prospect. Draft day comes around and we add a couple more talented aspiring NHL’ers onto the future roster.
What happens next year?
When it comes to goalies, everyone understands that young talent need someone with experience to mentor them. Whether people want to acknowledge it or not, the same is true for players. If Sundin hangs up the blue and white there will be no one left on this team capable of being the role model that a team made up of young up-and-comers needs to have around them.
Career All-Star, Internationally recognized player, over 10 years as Captain in the NHL and numerous Captaincies internationally and 70+ points year after year. Can you imagine someone better for the youth of the future Leafs to have around them on the ice and in the locker room?
The solution is simple people say. Trade away Sundin and then re-sign him in the summer as an unrestricted free agent. Well there is only one problem. Mats has already stated that he doesn’t want to leave and doesn’t want to be a rental player. So if he gets essentially forced out of this organization, why would we have any reason to believe he would come back and not just retire or stay with whichever team actually WANTED him? Besides if a team expects to be getting Sundin for only a few months their offers will be significantly less than what he’d garner as a more permenant addition.
Cliff Fletcher, listen up. Sure Sundin will pull some good value on the open market, but he is just as valuable, if not more valuable, as the Leafs’ version of Steve Yzerman. Playing out his career with the team he loves and teaching the young talent who are the future of the organization how to handle themselves both on and off the ice.
Sign Sundin to a three or four year deal, let him stay with the team he loves, don’t expect him to put up 70 points for the rest of his career, but understand that his value on the Leafs goes beyond putting the puck in the net himself. Don’t cheat both Sundin and the future young guns on this team by surgically removing the backbone that holds the Leafs upright.
Stumble it!
February 18th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
Sundin signs a 1-yr deal for this year and magically now when he’s a year older, he’ll want to sign long-term again??
Sundin as good as he is, is and has to be replaceable. The guy is 37, we have to stop looking at him to be the leader of this team. I think the Leafs realize this and this is why they want him to waive his NTC. They know damn well if Mats goes as rental player, he won’t be back, everyone knows this.
Take a chance, shake the team up, were not gonna be any worse off…..well unless Vesa dies in the summer and Andrew Raycrap has to play as the number 1.
February 19th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
I think that if the Leafs had not fired JFJ and kept the ship going the same way Mats would have retired at the end of the year.
I don’t think it’s that much of a stretch to think that Mats will want to sign long-term (2-3 years) this summer. I don’t see why the team would have to stop looking at Mats as the leader just because of his age. There is definitely a leadership gap between Mats and the younger players which a year or two more of Mats would help fill.