Confirmed with Link: Eric Staal (50% retained) to NYR for two 2nds (2016//2017) and Aleksi Saarela

[VAcaniac]

Defense/backchecking and effort really haven't been an issue with Eric under Peters as he's been relatively consistent in that regards. That said, if a coach has a system that encourages (or rather lets) it, he will cheat leaving the defensive zone in attempts to generate offense.

What you can expect from Eric. Good at faceoffs, good possession player, plays decent along the boards (not as strong as he used to), can play C or W, plays every game, can log a lot of minutes and a streaky scorer. Every scorer has cold/hot streaks, but Eric's seem to be longer (see the recent 16g Goal drought). In the past few years, he looks to pass more than shoot. He's got a decent shot, but he's not a pure goal scorer/sniper.

He used to be able to blow by defensemen coming down the wing, but in the past couple of years, he doesn't seem to be able to so takes it into the corner to cycle or button hooks and waits for his team. I think he's lost 1/2 a step, but more importantly, defensemen are a LOT faster now days (no more Hal Gils, Colin Whites, Bryan Allens, to beat).

I'll second this -- very good description. His backcheck definitely did improve under Peters, I just felt the need to be cynical.

He definitely is not a pure goal scorer.

 

[w e l o s t b o y s]

someone show chip the printscreen button

 

[Finnish Jerk Train]

Not going to lie, it's tougher to watch him go than I thought it'd be. Obviously you have to keep a forward view, especially in a rebuild, but the things he did in his early years were pivotal to the fits and bursts of success we've seen from this team. That part is hard to say goodbye to, even when you know full well that it was probably gone already.

It also doesn't help that I have no ****ing clue how we're going to fill a 1C hole for the next couple of years, but that's why they don't pay me the big bucks. That said, I still agree with the decision. In the long run, it's for the best.

 

[caniac247]

I normally don't care who is traded, but this one was hard to take. Not gonna lie, I do hope we are able to get him back July 1st. From the sounds of it, Francis said it was more term and feels he can get longer term on the open market, but maybe he'll see what is out there and ultimately decide that he wants to come back and will take lesser term.

I know he isn't the player he once was, but he still filled a role that will be hard to replace. We don't have anyone in the system to take over and no free agents are going to be knocking on our door. Possibly a trade, but then you have to give to get.

I wish Eric all the best in NY. Damn it's going to be hard seeing him play for a different team.

 

[VAcaniac]

I remember this like it was yesterday...

 

[garnetpalmetto]

So. Freaking. Weird. I wonder if Marc will change his nameplate to "M. Staal?"

 

[My Special Purpose]

If Eric Staal is your No. 1 center, then you don't have a No. 1 center.

You guys who don't know how we're going to replace our No. 1 center are ignoring the fact that we haven't had a No. 1 center for about five seasons now. And re-signing Eric this summer, regardless of the contract terms, will not solve that problem. We are a long way from competing in terms of elite offensive talent.

We also need a legit, 60-start, elite goalie, but baby steps.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

If Eric Staal is your No. 1 center, then you don't have a No. 1 center.

SAY IT AGAIN FOR THE FOLKS IN THE BACK.

You guys who don't know how we're going to replace our No. 1 center are ignoring the fact that we haven't had a No. 1 center for about five seasons now. And re-signing Eric this summer, regardless of the contract terms, will not solve that problem. We are a long way from competing in terms of elite offensive talent.

Fortunately, we proved this season that you can be surprisingly competitive with a good system and a good defensive core. If we can build two second-ish lines and two third-ish lines with good young talent and the right vets, this can be a playoff team.

We also need a legit, 60-start, elite goalie, but baby steps.

From your mouth to God's ears.

 

[Ole Gil]

If Eric Staal is your No. 1 center, then you don't have a No. 1 center.

You guys who don't know how we're going to replace our No. 1 center are ignoring the fact that we haven't had a No. 1 center for about five seasons now. And re-signing Eric this summer, regardless of the contract terms, will not solve that problem. We are a long way from competing in terms of elite offensive talent.

We also need a legit, 60-start, elite goalie, but baby steps.

In Bill Peter's system, you can win with Eric Staal at #1 due to his being a top 5 possession center in the league.

We'll see what happens without Eric soon enough.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

In Bill Peter's system, you can win with Eric Staal at #1 due to his being a top 5 possession center in the league.

We'll see what happens without Eric soon enough.

CF%:

EStaal: 56.68
Nestrasil: 55.13
JStaal: 54.02

In the short term, this team will suffer as much from Nesty's absence as from Eric's.

In the long term, the drop-off is not that high -- and if we want a guy with high Corsi but doesn't score that much, there will be candidates in free agency. (Including Eric.)

 

[My Special Purpose]

In Bill Peter's system, you can win with Eric Staal at #1 due to his being a top 5 possession center in the league.

We'll see what happens without Eric soon enough.

I'm not saying the team will be better now that we traded Eric. I'm saying that paying Eric Staal $9.5 million to be your No. 1 center is a great recipe to miss the playoffs.

I have no doubt he has value. I have no doubt he can still play in the league. But he's not a $9.5 million No. 1 center anymore and he hasn't been for a while.

I think you guys are ignoring the fact that we paid this guy $57.75 million the past six seasons, and we didn't make the playoffs once.

 

[Ole Gil]

I'm not saying the team will be better now that we traded Eric. I'm saying that paying Eric Staal $9.5 million to be your No. 1 center is a great recipe to miss the playoffs.

I have no doubt he has value. I have no doubt he can still play in the league. But he's not a $9.5 million No. 1 center anymore and he hasn't been for a while.

I think you guys are ignoring the fact that we paid this guy $57.75 million the past six seasons, and we didn't make the playoffs once.

Eric Staal isn't going to be making 9 million a year on his next contract, so in terms of looking to the future, I'm not sure how that's relevant.

I agree, the last 3 years he hasn't been good enough for his cap hit.

Going forward, we want a legit #1C. But as a stop gap, a possession #1C might do if they want to try and win. Because a #3C playing #1C kills a season before it begins.

 

[Blueline Bomber]

I'm not saying the team will be better now that we traded Eric. I'm saying that paying Eric Staal $9.5 million to be your No. 1 center is a great recipe to miss the playoffs.

I have no doubt he has value. I have no doubt he can still play in the league. But he's not a $9.5 million No. 1 center anymore and he hasn't been for a while.

I think you guys are ignoring the fact that we paid this guy $57.75 million the past six seasons, and we didn't make the playoffs once.

And this season, the closest shot to the playoffs we've had in a while, he put up 30 points. That's unacceptable for a captain, for a franchise player, for a #1 C. It's just unacceptable all around.

 

[My Special Purpose]

Eric Staal isn't going to be making 9 million a year on his next contract, so in terms of looking to the future, I'm not sure how that's relevant.

I agree, the last 3 years he hasn't been good enough for his cap hit.

Going forward, we want a legit #1C. But as a stop gap, a possession #1C might do if they want to try and win. Because a #3C playing #1C kills a season before it begins.

A stop gap for what? We've got nothing coming in terms of a No. 1 center. We either need to trade for one or get a really high draft pick.

I'm sorry, but we're not as close as we think we are. To do what we did this year without a legit scoring threat and without a No. 1 goalie is remarkable, but unsustainable. Putting Eric Staal back into the same role, even at a lower price, doesn't help our rebuild one bit.

 

[bleedgreen]

We don't need a top center. I've been saying for awhile we need to go the Nashville or Phoenix route. A bunch of B to B plus players through out the entire lineup instead of focusing on an A guy. We just tried and failed to do that with Staal. We couldn't afford to give him help paying him what we did. Three scoring lines. Spend money on defense and goaltending. It's boring at times but it fits our budget and we've seen what we can do with a good system. Lot easier to replace your soon to be overpaid B player than your A level star.

Not that we've had one of those recently.

 

[bleedgreen]

Eric's contract is arguably the worst thing that happened to this team post cup. It never made sense. this team started headed downhill the moment Ward and Staal got those contracts.

I don't dislike Eric, he just wasn't worth that much money, and there was no way we were gonna field a team around him. He isn't a good enough individual player.

 

[Ole Gil]

A stop gap for what? We've got nothing coming in terms of a No. 1 center. We either need to trade for one or get a really high draft pick.

I'm sorry, but we're not as close as we think we are. To do what we did this year without a legit scoring threat and without a No. 1 goalie is remarkable, but unsustainable. Putting Eric Staal back into the same role, even at a lower price, doesn't help our rebuild one bit.

In a league that is pinching pennies trying to squeeze under the cap, the Canes are going to be rolling in free'd up money with only a few holes to fill.

They need 2 1st line players and a goalie. That's about it. And it looks like they have ~20 million to do it with (on top of their pile of picks).

The front office has been helpless for the last few years due to Rutherford. But there are no excuses going forward not to try to fix the problems both short term and long term. I'd like to see them do better than Eric at #1C, but I think that could still be part of a solution that works. And if the salary is reasonable, when a better #1 option comes along, he could easily slide down to play with Jordan on the 2nd.

 

[My Special Purpose]

The vast majority of issues this team has had for the past 6-7 seasons can be traced to bad contracts given out by JR. From Brind'Amour (great guy, great player, contract way too long) to the dueling Gleason/Ruutu four-year extensions in 2012, to the Staal deal (way, way too much money for the kind of player he is -- i.e. not a Crosby-Ovechkin-Stamkos-level superstar) to the Alex Semin extension, which was ridiculous on so many levels it should have gotten JR fired on the spot.

RF has shown so far that he's not going to pay for the name on the back of the jersey. That, in and of itself, is reason for optimism, IMO. We haven't yet seen what RF *is* willing to pay for. Hopefully, it's a really good goalie and an elite offensive talent.

 

[Carolinas Identity*]

So. Freaking. Weird. I wonder if Marc will change his nameplate to "M. Staal?"

5/5 classless subban's for taking ranger legend danny paille's number

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

I agree with the b to b + players.

Which is why we need a b+ player like estaal.

It's happening.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

I'm happy to pay B+ money to B+ players.

Trouble is that GMJR paid A+ money to B+ players and B+ money to D- players.

 

[SaskCanesFan]

We don't need a top center. I've been saying for awhile we need to go the Nashville or Phoenix route. A bunch of B to B plus players through out the entire lineup instead of focusing on an A guy. We just tried and failed to do that with Staal. We couldn't afford to give him help paying him what we did. Three scoring lines. Spend money on defense and goaltending. It's boring at times but it fits our budget and we've seen what we can do with a good system. Lot easier to replace your soon to be overpaid B player than your A level star.

Not that we've had one of those recently.

I know this team will probably never have a huge budget, but I disagree that we don't need to get a true #1 C. The idea has got to be better than the Preds or Coyotes, that would be hugely disappointing to me if that's all their shooting for. Nashville has had some consistent playoff appearances but has only ever made it past the first round twice in a decade, and the Coyotes have been largely irrelevant other than one Cinderella run. Hell, I take the Canes success of actually winning a Cup + a second long run over either of those two teams history. The goal has got to be a consistent threat to go deep, which neither of those teams is. And that takes a true top line with some elite talent.

RF has done a nice job of addressing our depth issues the last couple days, adding some nice young players and a boatload of picks. Now I'd be willing to package some combination of our 1st, LA 1st, Murphy, and the later picks and see how far we can move up in the draft this year. Get somebody high end.

 

[Quacktastic]

Staal gets cheered the second he steps on the ice and has a good first shift, won a board battle and went to the net.

edit: Just looked at our schedule and we play the Rongos at home March 31st. That will be a weird game.

 

[Surrounded By Ahos]

Really wanted to watch it but the game is blacked out on gamecenter.

 

[bb99]

Seeing that long stride in a blue shirt is really really weird. Looking good what I've seen of him so far. Saw a nice cycle, even a one timer and a few face off wins.