Bleacher Report - Articles by Sean Scrivener

Mats Sundin Now Sought after by Senators Too

Sean Scrivener — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 10:11:41 -0400

In an article written in the Ottawa Sun two league sources have reported that the Senators organization also made inquiries about the Swedish blueliner's availability for next season. Though Ottawa has not been as aggressive as some other teams around the league, GM Bryan Murray has made at least three calls to Sundin's agent, J.P. Barry, expressing an interest.

With $52 of $56 million of the salary cap already dedicated to players' salaries for this year, it is reported that the team would somehow find a way to make it work were Sundin willing to come to Ottawa. This would involve some sort of trade down the line to free up cap space to sign the 37-year-old winger.

Barry is quoted as saying, "I'm not going to confirm or deny that (the Senators) are among the teams interested...I'm not going to get into the teams that are interested because right now it doesn't make any difference until Mats makes a decision on whether he's going to play or not.

"If Mats decides that he's going to play, then we'll follow up with the teams that have shown an interest."

Sun Media also reported that Senators owner Eugene Melnyk has taken a serious interest in Sundin as a way of inflicting some psychological damage on Leaf Nation. However, at the conclusion of this week's charity hockey tournament in Toronto, Sundin flew to Montreal to speak with Habs GM Bob Gainey as well.

Sundin also has offers on the table from Toronto and Vancouver, who offered him a two-year, $20 million contract back on July 1.

At this point, it looks like Sundin won't be making any decision about his playing future until Christmas. Fans in Ottawa can only wait and hope to see if Mats switches sides in the Battle of Ontario. It's a long shot, but there's no shame in trying.

Why Greedy Players Never Win in Ottawa

Sean Scrivener — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:59:48 -0400

They never learn do they? Four European primadonna's and all four of them run out of town on a wagon. Seems that greed and ego always trump common sense when it comes to playing for the Ottawa Senators. Say what you want about this franchise, but it only pays players what they're worth not what they, and their agents, think they're worth.

Andrej Meszaros has just learned his lesson the hard way. Had he been a student of history, he would have seen that those before him, Yashin, Chara, and Havlat, rarely get the best of Ottawa GM's when it comes down to contract talk. So, like his predecessor's, he was told to get out.

Meszaros was sent to the Tampa Bay Lightening this week (a team I've come to coin as the New York Rangers' "mini-me") for Filip Kuba, Alexandre Picard, and a first-round draft pick. What Ottawa gains is veteran leadership, size, local talent, and two first round picks in this year's draft. What they lose is inconsistency, give aways, and inaccurate shooting. I call this a good deal!

Now, going back to my earlier point about history. In Ottawa, demands never win out over talent and value. The first time Ottawa Senators' fans were privy to this was during the infamous Yashin debacle. A talented player, whom Ottawa owners and fans believed carried the franchise, who demanded big bucks in return for his years of service. Granted, Yashin's point totals were in impressive, but consider this, only once did he eclipse 100 points and only twice did he score over 40 goals in a season.

His playoff record was even worse: 20 playoff games 12 points. Fast forward to the 1999-2000 season and Yashin is told "thanks but no thanks" and is sent packing to the New York Islanders for Zdeno Chara, Bill Muckalt, and New York's first round draft pick which turned out to be Jason Spezza. Again, I call this a great deal!!

After Yashin left Ottawa his numbers declined substantially. In his first season on the Island he scored 27 goals and 70 points. A little low for a guy that signed a 10-year, $90-million contract. In each of the following years he would never again eclipse the 25 goal mark, scoring just 16 in his last season on the island before being bought out.

The second member of this list is Zdeno Chara. Chara, a 6'9" Slovak, was essentially seen by players around the league as a giant goon and nothing more. Ottawa, however, saw potential in his size and hard shot from the point. For four years he would quarterback the Senators powerplay scoring a career high 20 goals in the 2005-2006 season. However, what most fans will remember about Chara is he let Jason Pominville skate around him, Wade Redden, and Daniel Alfredsson to eventually score the series winning goal for Buffalo in the 2006 Eastern Semi-finals.

How does he react to this? He demands an eight year $8M dollar contract, then goes around questioning the leadership of Daniel Alfredsson and saying he should be captain instead. Hence, the following season he signs a 6-year $44M dollar contract with Boston (with a no-trade clause) and gets his wish becoming captain. Though the Senators did not receive anything in return, I believe his absence during the 2006-2007 season consolidated the leadership issue in that dressing room and cleared the air of yet another ego. Also, let's not forget that Ottawa reached the Stanley Cup Finals that year while Boston, with their new poster boy defenseman, didn't even qualify for the post-season.

Finally, we come to Martin Havlat. Havlat, a speedy forward from the Czech National Team, was perhaps the most talented player to come out of the 1999 draft. His crafty moves and lightening quick speed made him one of the most dynamic forwards in the NHL. After a career year where he scored 29 goals during the regular season and eight in the first round series versus Tampa, Havlat became a restricted free agent.

Despite his talent, Havlat was also very injury prone. Since he started his career in 2000 he has yet to play a full-season in the NHL. His last season in Ottawa, he only played in 52 of 82 games. During contract negotiations, the Senators were willing to give Havlat another chance by offering him a three year, $9M contract extension. Havlat's camp countered with a one year, $4.5M dollar contract instead. This sent a clear message to the management in Ottawa that Havlat was not interested in being a part of the long-term building process in Ottawa.

That summer he was traded in a three-team deal that saw him go to Chicago in return for Tom Preissing, Michael Barinka, and Josh Hennessy. The only asset to come out of this trade was Preissing, who put up and impressive +37 that year and was one of the keys to Ottawa's success in the playoffs.

But what's happened to Martin Havlat? Since signing a six year $36M dollar contract with Chicago, Havlat has played a grand total of 81 games over two and half seasons. He has yet to score 20 or more goals with the franchise and has scored only 80 points in the same time period. Again, I call this a deal!!

Finally we come back to Andrej. While there is no doubt that Meszaros is a talented D-Man, he still has a lot of growing up to do. Since his breakout rookie season, with 30 plus points and a league leading +35, his numbers have steadily declined to +8 in 2006-2007 to a dismal -15 this past season. As Murray said, he couldn't in good conscience make Meszaros the highest paid defenseman on the Ottawa Senators when you have the league's best shut-down tandem in Phillips and Volchenkov making a combined salary of $5M/year.

So, bye bye Meszaros we wish you all the best in Tampa, but us Sens' fans don't take kindly to your type. I'm sure you'll find out, as Yashin, Havlat, and Chara have, that from whence came cheers at the mention of your name will now rain boo's more fierce than any reckoning could ever be.

Hey Joe! Where Ya Goin?: The Great Joe Sakic Caper

Sean Scrivener — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 09:50:10 -0400

This just in: No one interested in veteran Joe Sakic for the upcoming NHL season.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!

It's sad, but yes, it is also true; two time Stanley Cup Champion, Hart Trophy Winner, Conn Smythe Trophy winner, Olympic Gold Medalist and record setting playoff scorer Joe Sakic doesn't seem to be blowing up anyone's skirt these days. It is anyone's guess why, but I guess class acts like "Captain Canada" don't interest GM's around the league these days.

To be honest though, few people are actually aware that he's a free agent, including this writer who only found out a few weeks ago. In today's NHL there's plenty of room for a guy like Joe in any team's locker room. He's the perpetual leader: he does it by example and he does it better then anyone else except maybe Mark Messier.

This past year, his twentieth or so with the Avalanche/Nordiques franchise, he recorded his record setting 16th career Game-Winning-Goal in the playoffs. What does this mean? Essentially, he's now won two of his Stanley Cups' single-handedly

Who the hell wants that on their team though? Common I want the overpaid agitator from Dallas that seems to be better at causing a scene then helping his teammates.

There is still room for a celebrated veteran like Joe, and here are a number of teams who could use him:

Vancouver Canucks: For a team that has seemingly fell off the radar of late, this would be a huge boost for them especially if they could add Mats Sundin as well. Also, seeing as he's in the twilight of his career the asking price wont be that high either. Being from Burnaby doesn't hurt either; I'm a big fan of local boys.

Ottawa Senators: No doubt the nations capital could use a little dose of the guy that won the country the gold medal in 2001, then went on to capture the Cup the same year. Put him in a locker room with Alfredsson and Smith and you've got a leadership group that could bring the Sens to the promised land.

Atlanta Thrashers: With such a young roster, a vet like Joe would help with players like Kovalchuk and Williams. Not to mention he would make that one potent first line.

Detroit Red Wings: I only say this because I'd like to see him win one more championship before he retires. Coupled with the young players and the leadership corps of vets they have, it could very well allow Detroit to repeat as champs. Think his buddy Steve would let him wear his number 19 jersey?

Buffalo Sabres: While the Sabres dropped significantly from their President's Trophy success in '07, this could be the shot in the arm they need. Sakic would undoubtedly be wearing the "C" in Buffalo and help mold players like Derek Roy into more complete players.

So, Earth to NHL GM's: get off your butts and do something constructive for a change! As a hockey purist, to discard a guy like Joe is an insult to the game and its fans. Money doesn't always buy happiness - just ask the New York Rangers.

Mats Sundin's Middle Name Is Consistency, But Is That Worth $10 Million a Year?

Sean Scrivener — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 14:32:36 -0400

This may be an odd thing coming from a Senators fan. But despite what some of my other colleagues in the Senators community believe, I think Mats Sundin is one of the best players in the NHL.

In fact, when talks were circling last year that Sundin was gonna be on trade block and willing to waive his no-trade clause, I honestly thought the Senators should have made a push to get him on this team. Many thought I was crazy, others thought it would never happen, and a few believed I should be hung from a tree in front of the parliament buildings!

Regardless of all that, I believe Sundin's addition to any team deemed to be a legitimate Stanley Cup contender, may be enough to put said team over the top. The Montreal Canadiens, for one, would definitely be legitimate contenders, given the depth of their roster and solid goaltending.

That being said, the ridiculous amount of money thrown his way may be too much for the aging centre, given his longevity as a viable player in the NHL. While no one can dispute the fact that eighteen-straight 20-goal seasons is impressive, a few things are glaringly clear.

For one, he's never had a 50-goal season in his career. He's hit 40 a few times, but never fifty.

Second, he's only reached the 100-point plateau once, in his second year with the Nordiques, and since then has only reached over 90 points twice and over 70 points another two times.

Finally, he's never won a Stanley Cup.

Some critics have argued that of one of the greatest character flaws about Sundin is his seeming ambiguity towards the National Hockey League championship. One such example arose in the 2003 Stanley Cup Playoffs, when it was found out that Sundin had already booked his ticket back to Sweden before Game Six of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, after the Leafs had fallen to 3-2 in the series against the Flyers.

Others argue that the best hockey that they'd seen the Swedish phenom play was during the 2004 Olympics in Turin, when the Swedish National Team won the Olympic Gold Medal.

However, it is without a doubt that Mats has been the heart and soul of a Toronto team that has not seen a championship since 1967. His unwavering loyalty to his team and teammates has been without question.

Character flaws aside, I think that Mats Sundin would be an asset to any team he decides to join, whether it be Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, or Detroit. But at the twilight of a career, it would be foolish to hand out such a large contract.

My advice to General Managers is this—get what you can, when you can and at the best value to your team and its fans. In the end, it's the average ticket buyer who will feel the pitfalls or positive consequences of your decision.

Finally, Mats Sundin should make the decision that is right to him. He has nothing left to prove, and if he retires it will be with his head held high.