It's time for the Maple Leafs to end it with Sundin
Goodbye Mats. Goodbye and good luck.
Cliff Fletcher should announce what is painfully obvious: that the Mats Sundin era in Toronto was great while it lasted, but it's over. Done. Finished. There is nothing more to add to the story.
C'mon Cliff, get it over with.
Fletcher, ever the diplomat, has tiptoed around saying that Sundin is finished as a Leaf. He is too concerned about optics and doesn't want to be portrayed as the bad guy. It is noble of Fletcher, but not necessary.
The Maple Leafs offered Sundin a one-year contract worth a generous $7 million with a no-trade clause. Fletcher asked for a quick answer, and when he didn't get it, he tried to speed up the process by allowing the Montreal Canadiens to negotiate with Sundin prior to July 1.
Sundin – who probably takes all day to decide what to eat for breakfast - is still uncertain about his future. He indicated this in a statement through his agent, J.P. Barry. He thanked the teams that showed interest, but made it clear he's just not ready to make a decision.
Fair enough.
Anything can happen, but in the next month Sundin will likely come to the correct realization that he is no longer needed or wanted by Toronto. If he decides to play next year, it will be with a team that has a chance to challenge for the Stanley Cup – such as the Canadiens or Rangers – or a team that makes him a ridiculous overture, like the Canucks did when they offered him $20 million over two years.
Parting ways with Sundin immediately is the right thing to do. The rebuilding process in Toronto does not require a 37-year-old captain making $7 million - and it certainly doesn't require such a player with a no-trade clause. Fletcher should retain the right to trade his biggest asset if he decides it's in the best interests of the organization. Otherwise, the inmates will continue to run the asylum.
Fletcher would be well advised to take the $7 million allotted for Sundin and spend it on two or three additional free agents. Obviously the Leafs won't get a superstar for $2.5 million a season, but it will land them foot soldiers. Right now the Leafs need all the bodies they can get.
Admittedly, the free agent market is thinning out by the hour. However, there are still a few reasonable options available to Fletcher. Instead of high-priced help, he should be looking mid-range at players. This is not to suggest that any of these players alone could replace Sundin, but two or three players of this ilk would at least plug some holes. If nothing else, they might fetch a draft pick or two at the trade deadline.
An even better option is for Fletcher to trust his scouts and make minor deals for young players with upside, such as he did in picking up Mikhael Grabovski. In doing so, the team will get younger, cheaper, faster and more exciting to watch. If you're going to lose, lose with young players who will endear themselves to the fans.
Since taking the reigns as GM back in January, Fletcher has been trying to move the organization forward. Considering his hands have been tied by no-movement clauses, he's done a decent job. In buying out the contracts of Andrew Raycroft and Darcy Tucker – and by asking Bryan McCabe to waive his no-trade clause - he made a bold statement that the future has begun.
Now he needs to make another bold announcement by proclaiming that the Mats Sundin era in Toronto is over. Then, and only then, will the future officially be underway.
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