Bolts' bad move

I was reading online where Ryan Malone could be considered the new Martin Lapointe. With free-agency about to kick in Tuesday morning, that comparison could be fulfilling a dangerous prophecy.

The Tampa Bay Lightning, armed with deep-pocketed new ownership after finishing with the fewest wins last season and with former ESPN talking head Barry Melrose behind the bench, made the biggest splash Monday by agreeing with Malone to a seven-year, $31.5 million contract.

On Saturday, the Bolts acquired the short-term negotiating rights to Malone and 42-year-old forward Gary Roberts from the Pittsburgh Penguins for a conditional draft pick.

“We said earlier this week we would be aggressive in our pursuit of free agents in order to win and compete,” new owner Oren Koules told the Lightning's official Web site. True to its word, Tampa Bay on Monday picked up the rights to Brian Rolston from the Minnesota Wild for a draft pick.

The question that must be asked is how did Malone become the centerpiece of this rebuilding effort? He was a nice player for Eastern Conference champion Pittsburgh last season with career-highs of 27 goals and 51 points. He had 11 power-play goals and six game-winners in 2007-08, and will turn just 29 in December.

But this is not a player who will develop into a 40-goal, 100-point scorer. While the Lightning have those types of players in Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis, and a possible future star in No. 1 overall pick Steve Stamkos, how can this deal be justified after the lockout, $56.7 million salary cap notwithstanding.

At 6-foot-4, Malone will never be confused with the 5-foot-11 Lapointe, who split last season with the Chicago Blackhawks and Ottawa Senators. In 2001, Lapointe, then 27, parlayed the best season of his career - 27 goals and 57 points with the Detroit Red Wings - into a four-year, $20 million contract with the Boston Bruins.

Since then, he hasn't had more than 17 goals and 23 assists, and those came in his first season in Beantown. He's a third-liner at best.

Koules and his ownership group need to remember the phrase 'buyer beware.' While I am sure there is a certain aspect of glitz and glamor to being the owner of a professional franchise, they also need to be smart about their spending.

$31.5 million to Malone, in my estimation, is not smart.

Rangers reverting to old ways?

Though I live in Chicago and have somewhat adopted the Blackhawks, there is always a part of me that will be a fan of the New York Rangers.

This was the team I grew up watching. So, it dismays be greatly when I see who they have their eye on when free agency begins next week.

The New York Post reported today that the Rangers are interested in longtime Toronto Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin - who will be 38 in February - to pair with Jaromir Jagr. Sundin and Jagr are represented by the same management company, and Sundin has made it clear that New York City is a prime destination.

It's not that Sundin is a bad player. It's that the Rangers are reverting to their old ways of getting players past their prime.

I started following them in the early 1970s, admittedly not knowing much. I was 10 in May 1976 when the Rangers acquired high-scoring Ken Hodge from the Boston Bruins for Rick Middleton in a trade considered the worst in franchise history.

Three years earlier, Hodge had 50 goals and tied a career high with 105 points for the Bruins. He was 31 and a 12-year-veteran when he joined the Blueshirts, but had 23 goals in 96 games over two seasons in New York before retiring with 328 total.

Middleton had a hat trick in his first game with the Bruins. He went on to score 402 of his 448 goals, reaching 40 five times, with Boston before calling it quits in 1988.

In 1987, New York added Marcel Dionne from the Los Angeles Kings. Dionne is considered one of the game's all-time greats - the 5-foot-8 speedster reached 50 goals five times from 1978-83, but totaled 42 in two-plus seasons with the Rangers before ending his career in 1989.

Guy Lafleur? The five-time 50-goal scorer came out of retirement to join the Rangers in 1988, but was eighth on the team with 18 goals behind such luminaries as Carey Wilson and Ulf Dahlen, but ahead of John Ogrodnick.

Here's what is good about Sundin. One, he's big - at 6-foot-5 and 231 pounds, it's not easy to move him at all. Two, he's been good for a point per game in his career, totaling 1,305 in 1,321 games with the Quebec Nordiques and Maple Leafs, with whom he's long been the face of the franchise.

The bad? One, he will 38 this season. I don't care how big or how strong he is or how much he has left in the tank, 38 is 38. Two, he can be a drama queen - his refusal to waive his no-trade clause and allow the Maple Leafs to move forward - infuriated management and appeared to make him look bad as well.

According to the Toronto Star in February, Sundin - the franchise leader in both goals and points - sounded as if he'd rather retire a Maple Leaf than win a Cup with another team.

"I have carefully considered the team's request that I waive my no-trade clause," Sundin said in a statement released by his agent. "I have always believed I would finish my career as a Toronto Maple Leaf so the actual request was still a very difficult one for me to contemplate.

"I have spoken to and listened to my family and those closest to me about this issue. In the end, there is no right decision in a situation like this one.

"I cannot leave my teammates and join another NHL club at this time. I have never believed in the concept of a rental player. It is my belief that winning the Stanley Cup is the greatest thing you can achieve in hockey but for me, in order to appreciate it you have to have been part of the entire journey and that means October through June. I hope everyone will understand and respect my decision."

The Maple Leafs failed to reach the playoffs for the third straight season - the first time that's happened in the franchise's 80-plus year history.

Red Wings win

Someone hijacked this apparently ... I will update later