From Iain McIntyre of the Vancouver Sun:
For managers, the line between drive and desperation is tiny. And the Leafs are all the sobering evidence anyone needs (Jason Blake, Pavel Kubina, Andrew Raycroft, Darcy Tucker, Bryan McCabe) as a warning against straying to the side of fiscal madness, where teams operate out of fear to placate a frenzied public demanding instant gratification
Gillis’s offer to Sundin, who is being courted by at least 10 teams and seriously by the Canucks, Leafs, Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers, gets close to that line.
Read more from McIntyre here.
The risk in signing Sundin for the Canucks isn’t really that high. Aside from the cost, which is exorbinant, the deal is only two years. Although if Sundin were to retire after one season, then the team would have to eat the second year’s salary against the cap. The risk for the rest of the league, of course, is that Sundin’s contract will set a bad precedent and continue to send salaries through the roof.
