IN the end, Mats Sundin made like Woodward and Bernstein following Deep Throat’s advice. He followed the money.
The 37-year-old free agent center followed the money to Vancouver, accepting a pro-rated $10 million deal from the Canucks instead of less than that to live in New York and play for the Rangers.
Sundin followed his wallet instead of his heart. Good for him. Just one more mercenary the way pretty much professional athletes essentially are. They get it while they can, like most of us would.
Scott Gomez wanted to play in New York, but the Rangers had to pay a $51.5 million toll in order to get him across the Hudson. Chris Drury always wanted to play in New York, but it took $35.25 million and a full no-move clause to get him into the Blueshirt he always dreamt of wearing.
It doesn’t make any of them into Bernard Madoff, doesn’t make any of them into villains, but of all the big-name athletes who have wanted to come to New York, only one took less to do so, and he is Brendan Shanahan.
Sundin will be playing approximately 55 percent of the season. He will earn $5.5 million from the Canucks. Had he taken the pro-rated $5.5 million from the Rangers that we’re told GM Glen Sather advised Sundin’s camp the Blueshirts would get to, the former Leaf captain would have earned $3.025 million.
The Rangers may not be a better team than the Canucks, but they sure play in a weaker conference and sure have at least an equally good shot at Vancouver at getting through their half of the playoff draw. Without question, Sundin would have made the Blueshirts a far more formidable opponent.
Sundin would have given the Rangers a presence they do not have. He would have given the Rangers a force opposition coaches would have had to game-plan against. He would have given the Rangers the sizzle they simply cannot capture.
No question there would have been a period of adjustment, but the Rangers would have emerged as a much stronger team on the other side had Sundin been willing to take what the Blueshirts would have been able to give him by deleting automatic scratches Petr Prucha and Dan Fritsche.
Let’s face it, though. The Rangers didn’t lose Sundin yesterday. They lost Sundin on July 1 when Sather had perhaps the worst day on the market since people were jumping out of windows on Black Friday of Oct. 25, 1929.
The Rangers are going to lose any chance of competing for players who become available the rest of the year unless the general manager gets down to work and begins to create cap space for the rest of the season beyond the $1 million the Blueshirts now own.
Sundin went for the money. The Rangers didn’t have enough of it. Sather had better create cap space – and now – so that his team has enough of it when the next guy becomes available.