The push to get Mats Sundin to sign with the Blackhawks is something that I just cannot get my support behind. Yea, the guy has been great over his NHL career. However, I just don’t see him fitting in with the Blackhawks plans now and for the future.
The facts: He’s 37 now and will be turning 38 in a couple of months. He’s expensive; reports indicating that he could cost around $9 million per year. There are roughly ten teams interested and he said he’ll narrow his search to three or four shortly.
First, let’s get one thing straight Hawk fans…like it or not, we really cannot realistically expect to make a serious run for the Stanley Cup this year. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to see it just as badly as any other Hawk fan…but I’m being realistic. The Hawks are still rebuilding and winning one or two playoff series this year would be a serious step in the right direction.
I will be the first to agree that the Hawks can only get better with the acquisition of a second line center, even if it means giving up a good winger and/or a good defenseman in the process. But the talks of getting the older and really expensive Mats Sundin (and Michael Nylander for that matter) are not what the Hawks should be looking for. Instead, they should be looking to acquire a young, explosive center with potential sky high. Only if the Hawks could be so lucky to get a player like that…or can they?
His name? Jordan Staal. His age? 20. Explosive? You better believe it. Potential? Sky high. His talent? 2nd line center now, with 1st line center in his sights down the line.
But why would any team in their right minds be looking to move a guy like this? Most teams wouldn’t. Unless you are the Pittsburgh Penguins and have the likes of Sidney Crosby (age 21) and Evgeni Malkin (age 22) centering your top two lines (not to mention, making almost $9 mil each per year).
In an article over on MVN, the writer gave his thoughts on Staal’s future and potential and it sounds spot on:
"In order for him to really reach his potential, the Pens will either have to spend the money necessary to have third line wingers good enough to be first or second line guys, or they have to trade Staal to a team where he would get the chance to be a first or second line player (pretty much any other team in the league).
Jordan Staal may have finally turned the corner...right onto someone else's roster.”
Staal is set to become a free agent after this season and to date, there have only been talks and rumors about what Staal may receive from the Penguins if they decide to keep him. It is tough to know if Staal wants to be playing in the shadows of Crosby and Malkin for the foreseeable future; I guess that’s something only he truly knows. However, if he wants to get into a role where he shines and really has the opportunity to showcase his talent, switching teams may be in his best interest. And maybe joining a team with Kane, Toews and company may be something right up his alley.
-One more quick thing about Sundin… for any baseball fans out there, does this not sound eerily similar to Roger Clemens? Sit for a good chunk of the season and then come in, making a crap load of money but not really help the team all the much? If he really wanted to play for the Hawks, maybe I’d be more inclined to support his arrival. But for him to say he’s going to narrow down his list from ten teams to three or four and then decide, forget it. If he doesn’t want to be with us that badly, we (or at least I) don’t want him either. There Mats, we mutually agree…go somewhere else.
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