Taylor Mourning signs extension with Malmo

[scoop 3,426]

In the midst of a breakout season, Taylor Mourning made the decision to stay in Malmo for three more seasons. While he could have finished out his contract with the Nighthawks and been a highly sought after free agent, he is showing loyalty to the team with whom he won a Continental Cup in his rookie season. He did not play a huge role on that squad, but he is currently second on the team in goals this season with 43. The Nighthawks have all but wrapped up the second best record in the league, and first place in the European Conference.

 

While the team is definitely a contender for the cup this season, their future is not quite as certain. Their prospect pool is very limited, and they have just one pick (MAL 1st) in the next draft. Two of their defensemen are retiring after this season, and the other two are not currently signed. Jakob Sosa, Steve Eso, and Artem Tretiak will all be done after S82. Mourning is the youngest player on the roster, and there isn't really any immediate help coming in to replace the players who will be leaving in the near future. All things considered, you can't help but wonder why he would want to stay. By the second year of this three-year extension, at most only five players on the current roster will still be here.

 

 

Mourning might be in for a couple of bad seasons with the Nighthawks, though it's possible that they would end up trading him when his value is high, within the next couple seasons. It could be a bad look for the franchise, though, if they were to immediately trade away the player who signed for three more years. It could also be seen as a good look, though, that he likes the franchise so much that he was willing to sign a multi-year deal to allow them to get more value out of him in a trade. Maybe it's something that they have discussed. Or perhaps Malmo intends to re-tool around Mourning by trading away veterans. I think management is in a tricky spot, and looking at things objectively, Malmo could be in for a difficult rebuild in the mid-80s.

 

Edited December 30, 2021 by scoop