Mats Sundin to the New York Rangers? An Analysis

There is rampant speculation in the hockey world that Mats Sundin might land on Broadway in the coming days.

There are many factors which Rangers GM Glen Sather has to—or should, since Sather has a history of leaping before he looks, but I digress—take into consideration before any potential agreement with Sundin can be made.

1. Needs of the Team

The first, and probably the most important, thing that must be taken into consideration is whether or not the Rangers really need Mats Sundin's services.

The team obviously has a couple of glaring deficiencies, but one must ask himself if adding another scorer will foster the most improvement of the team's play. Granted, Sundin is one heck of a goal scorer, but we supposedly have several of those already.

Perhaps the team would benefit more from adding a defenseman via trade instead. It's a well-documented fact that the Florida Panthers have been trying to deal Jay Bouwmeester all season. If their asking price isn't outrageous, JayBo might be the best option to fix this team.

We definitely can replace Dmitri Kalinin with him, and I don't think anyone will be too upset. Kalinin has been awful this season, and doesn't appear to be getting any better. Plus, besides the defensive upside, JayBo can also help the Rangers abysmal powerplay unit.

Another option the Rangers can explore is adding another playmaker via trade. Vancouver's Henrik Sedin is an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, and may be available for the right price.

Plus, if the Rangers don't land Sundin, the next best bet for him happens to be Vancouver. The Canucks might be willing to part ways with Sedin to free up a spot for Mats on their roster.

2. Team Chemistry

The next thing the Rangers need to consider regarding any possible acquisition would be how it would affect team chemistry. Many trades and free agent signings over the years have ruined a team's chemistry and sent the team spiraling into early tee times and high draft picks.

What would the Rangers players think about the acquisition of Mats Sundin? Would there be resentment in the locker room that most players have been battling for position in the standings all year, while Sundin just walks in mid-year and gets hailed as a savior?

3. Salary-Cap Issues

It's no secret that the Rangers don't have much in the way of space under the salary cap. In order to sign Sundin, there would definitely need to be at least one trade made to free the necessary space to do so. Who would the Rangers trade away?

There are several possibilities.

Chris Drury and Scott Gomez have both, in many people's minds, underperformed this season. Also, Petr Prucha and Nigel Dawes have been spending a lot of time as healthy scratches this season. Both are also restricted free agents after this season, and could draw offer sheets from other teams which the Rangers may be unwilling, or unable, to match. It's better to get something in return for them instead.

Finally, it's hard to imagine that anyone would be interested in acquiring Dmitri Kalinin or Michal Roszival with the way they've been playing this season, but they both make far more than they're worth to the Rangers and would probably go out the door for cheap.

In conclusion, there are many factors which are going to be factored in when deciding whether or not to sign Mats Sundin. There may not be a right or wrong answer as to whether or not the Rangers should sign him, but either way we should know within the next week or two how this saga is going to play out.