Although there is nothing but idle speculation surrounding the Mats Sundin situation, the summer is rapidly grinding to an end, which means training camps are just around the corner. The only concrete thing we've heard from the Sundin camp is that Mats wants to be at training camp, should he decide to honour us with another year of his presence rather than retiring.

Now, when a player of Mats' calibre (I may not like him, but I respect his ability) garners so much attention from the media, it stands to reason that people will throw out the "best fit" scenarios for him to win a Stanley Cup to end his career, a la Ray Bourque.

So, the list of "possible destinations" has been decided, at least by hockey writers and bloggers.

The one that seems to be the "flavour of the week" at the moment is Mats heading to Broadway to sign with the Rangers. Not only as a fan, but as someone who likes to think he knows something about hockey, I believe this would be a terrible idea, likely for both sides.

First of all, the Rangers are within $2M of the salary cap, meaning they would either have to a) Convince Mats to play for league minimum, to leave a bit of a buffer for injuries and whatnot b) Sign him for $2M and face a dangerous cap situation all season long, or c) Move out some salary and sign him for the $7-8.5M that the market will likely demand.

Now, some theorists have suggested the Rags would be looking to move Michal Rozsival and his $5M contract (signed this summer, in fact), but does this make any sense at all?

The Rangers aren't exactly deep on the blueline, and getting rid of Rozsival doesn't make them any deeper, especially since it would be a salary dump in which the Rangers would be seeking only prospects or picks, to maximize the dump. Is Bobby Sanguinetti ready to pick up the slack? I don't think so, nor do I think it would be a reasonable expectation from the team to put a rookie in a big-minutes situation.

Another reason Sundin should stay out of a Rangers uniform is that the team is already deep in centers and leaders. Chris Drury, who I believe will end up the team's captain this season, Scotty Gomez, and Mats Sundin? If I'm not mistaken, all 3 have been captains in the past, and all play the same position. While I suppose Drury could be moved to the left wing, I don't believe you should mess with a player's natural position if you want the most out of his game. This would leave one of those three centering the third line. A little pricey, I'd say...

Finally, the impact Sundin's sudden appearance would have on team chemisty is impossible to gauge. He seems like an affable enough guy off the ice, even if he's a bit of a prick on it. I doubt anyone would instantly dislike him, aside from possibly Wade Redden - lots of love lost during battle of Ontario games. But, it's a new team, new teammates, new coach, new system, and above all, new city. This would likely mean an adjustment period, aka - slow start. Can the Rangers' re-vamped lineup afford to allow Mats time to get settled in? And before anyone says anything about Nik Zherdev, the reason I draw a distinction is that Zherdev is much younger, and hasn't ever really planted roots in the NHL. Sundin, conversely, has 13 years of Leafs engrained in him, and it would take a lot of inner work for him to exorcise those "demons".

Anyway, I'd say Mats should really look at Toronto, Colorado, Vancouver (although the travel would be nuts) or even Montreal. I'm just praying Glen Sather has enough integrity to stick to his plan. And that plan, at least until now, didn't appear to include Sundin.

Until next time,

Na Zdravi!