Sundin, Sundin, Sundin

Ah, looks perfect, doesn't he? First things first, I must give credit where credit is due, and that certainly means to whoever did that photoshop.Seriously though, let's consider this whole Sundin situation. Before the free agent season opened up and shortly after Mr. BG acquired Alex Tanguay from the Flames, Montreal was in a state of euphoria when it was revealed that Montreal had gotten the exclusive negotiating rights to Mats Sundin. The drool was pouring out of our mouths at the prospect of a Tanguay-Sundin-Kovalev line, but once the initial waves of jubilation wore off, we - or at least I, anyways - were left to analyze the situation more carefully.

If you can't already tell from that photo, Sundin is old. He turns 38 next February. Going bald was not of his own volition. More and more, injuries have become an issue and just last year, his groin acted up four times in the span of less than 2 months.

Even without the question of injury, Sundin has never been the fastest skater on ice. But with the progression of age, he has slowed down further - does he have the legs to keep up with a high-tempo, odd-man rush, transition game Canadiens team? Unless he was stuck on a line with Lats (no offense, Tenderness) or Laraque, his linemates would have to wait for him to catch up at the blueline. I have no doubt he can still produce on the powerplay, but that is a limited role in which he can excel.

Finally, the last thing to consider is his salary. Vancouver offered up $10 million/year for his services. It is believed that Montreal's is a more reasonable $15M/2 yrs. Either way, $7.5 million is a lot to pay for one player, regardless of what other teams in the league are doing. I don't believe superstar forwards are necessary to win the Cup (which is, after all, the goal in everyone's minds right now), though they certainly help. Rather, balanced scoring, combined with exceptional goaltending and defense is what brings home the bacon. The Canadiens already have balanced scoring... I don't see why they need any more.