Player Discussion Eric Staal (The Frickin' All-Star)

[TaLoN]

Again though what if they don't want Haula or Scandella?

You can say what if until you're blue in the face, it's my prediction.

The Wild are most likely being targeted for defense based on likely protection list, Scandella is a proven top 4 defender that rates as high or higher than other defensemen available, plus they will put an extra premium on centers since they will be slim pickings in the draft, which makes Haula enticing as well.

Thus they get two quality players at two important positions instead of one that is lesser than the combined value.

I might be wrong, who knows... but Russo has already said he thinks a deal is already in place between the Wild and Vegas to make sure the Wild dictate who they lose in the draft.

 

[tny760]

Is there any local news about his status? I was disturbed they didn't take spinal precautions with him leaving the ice, the way he could barely walk and seemed to have lost feeling in his hands. Maybe it looked a lot worse than it was? Hoping so, and that he has no serious injury after all.

especially now, hearing that he claimed to have numbness in his feet, this really upsets me. like, i'm really glad he's OK, i'm not even a minny fan but watching them sit him right up and skate him off in that state really disturbs me to the point that i find myself checking up on his news days after the game..

i'm glad they pulled him from the ice as far as concussion protocol but moving him around like they did when he has complaints of numbness shouldn't even be happening at a high school sports level, much less in the NHL. i don't know who that responsibility falls on but it looked like there were several doctors there and not one of them raised the question? scary.

 

[BagHead]

You can say what if until you're blue in the face, it's my prediction.

The Wild are most likely being targeted for defense based on likely protection list, Scandella is a proven top 4 defender that rates as high or higher than other defensemen available, plus they will put an extra premium on centers since they will be slim pickings in the draft, which makes Haula enticing as well.

Thus they get two quality players at two important positions instead of one that is lesser than the combined value.

I might be wrong, who knows... but Russo has already said he thinks a deal is already in place between the Wild and Vegas to make sure the Wild dictate who they lose in the draft.

Whoa, I didn't hear that. Did Russo put that in his Rants or say it somewhere else?

 

[Wild11MN]

Whoa, I didn't hear that. Did Russo put that in his Rants or say it somewhere else?

That was a month or two ago, I believe on one of the podcasts. I can confirm that I heard that as well.

 

[Wild11MN]

As for news on Staal himself, some quotes from the official Wild website.

https://www.nhl.com/wild/news/staal-thankful-concussion-42517/c-289085976

When it first occurred, Staal exhibited little movement on the ice. As play raced towards the other goal, referees blew the whistle and immediately got training staff on the ice to attend to Staal.

In the first few moments after, Staal had a numbness in his feet that immediately alarmed medical personnel. Luckily, that quickly subsided and Staal was able to stand up a few minutes later.

"When you're in there, it happens really fast. And then you get everybody on the ice asking you a lot of questions, and you're just trying to process everything that's going on and you're just trying to answer the questions honestly of what I was feeling at that moment," Staal said. "Fortunate it wasn't any worse with some of the stuff that could have happened. I was lucky that I got a lot of good help from a lot of good people."

It was especially difficult for Staal's wife, Tanya, and his two oldest children, who were in attendance and had no idea of the severity of the injury until she was able to find him outside the Wild dressing room a few minutes later.

"I think I scared my wife a little bit. She came down right after, and basically said sorry because it's no fun to watch," Staal said. "She's watched a lot of hockey over time, and I'm sure when you see your husband in that state, it can shake you up a little bit. But she was with me right from there all the way through the process of what we had to do at the hospital and everything, so we're really fortunate."

 

[BigT2002]

As for news on Staal himself, some quotes from the official Wild website.

https://www.nhl.com/wild/news/staal-thankful-concussion-42517/c-289085976

Wow. He dodged a serious bullet.

 

[57special]

At some time do we have to think about re-upping this guy? I mean, I know he's not young, but he isn't slow, and his production speaks for itself. He seems to like it here...maybe he'd go for a hometown disco? Assuming he has another season of 55+ pts., what do we offer him this summer? He is 6 months younger than Koivu, but has played more games. I do think having MK around does help him in that he takes a lot of the hard TOI away from him, yet he still gets to play with some groovy young players(i.e. Coyle, Nino, zucker), so i can see the Wild being attractive for him.

Would some other team offer him a short term, big $$ contract?

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Yes, I think another team would offer something pretty big.

It might have to be something like 3 x $6m, depending on what the cap is of course.

But looking at our situation: Ennis' $4.6m comes off the books that same summer; nobody major should be due for a re-up (I expect Zucker and Dumba to extend past that summer, and JEE can get bridged pretty easily), but Granlund, Coyle and Spurgeon all expire the next summer, and Kunin's ELC expires.

 

[Bazeek]

I'd like to keep him and I don't know that he'd need to take a discount exactly, but he'd probably have to pass on longer, bigger contract offers from other teams if he stays. Still, I'm not sure how we could let him walk without anything to replace him. The void between a 36 year old Koivu and a 21 year old Eriksson-Ek (and maybe Kunin?) is pretty vast, even if Coyle moves to center.

 

[SomethingGeneric]

I think in an ideal world Staal will be expendable by the end of his contract due to Kunin and Eks development and Koivu being kept around as he continues to play as long as he wants so that's what i'm hoping for. If that doesn't happen then i wouldn't be opposed to a short term deal for him.

 

[ThatGuy22]

I think in an ideal world Staal will be expendable by the end of his contract due to Kunin and Eks development and Koivu being kept around as he continues to play as long as he wants so that's what i'm hoping for. If that doesn't happen then i wouldn't be opposed to a short term deal for him.

This is where i'm at. I wouldn't do anything this up coming summer, maybe start talking come January 2019 if we think we'll still have a need.

 

[DANOZ28]

im still in shock & amazed by how well staal has fit here.

 

[Bazeek]

im still in shock & amazed by how well staal has fit here.

He's up there with Nino and Spurgeon on the Lucky Breaks list.

 

[BusQuets]

Staal's offensive zone positioning is top notch.

 

[Wabit]

im still in shock & amazed by how well staal has fit here.

I'm not. He's was an upper tier 1C before he gave after years of nothing with the Canes. A willing shooter at center is something the Wild had needed for a long time. The bar was set pretty low after Granny/Coyle as centers.

Having BB as a coach plays well with Staal's game. I'm not sure if he would have been a good fit under Yeo.

 

[57special]

Good point about the willing shooter. I used to go insane watching Koivu, Granlund, and a deferring Coyle.

 

[Binister]

Gotta like his performance since he came to Minnesota. Also he doesn't have to be the face of the team or carry it.

 

[Al Lagoon]

If only Zack had been this good.

 

[Bazeek]

If only Zack had been this good.

Or this cheap.

 

[Northerner]

He's been good - and we've got every penny out of him. Hopefully we can keep him here another couple years because he's been great.

 

[Minnesota]

I love him, but I think he'll be a valuable trade piece to a playoff team in 2018-19.

Looking at how this season is going, I think we need to trade him + a few other major pieces. We're due for a rehaul.

 

[57special]

Unless we fall out of contention and he wants to go, we would keep him here unless we get blown away by a deal. He's is at the age where he doesn't want to move any more, and MN is pretty close to ideal for him. We'll see how he finishes off the year, but if he gets 60pts. Again it'll be hard not to offer him a Koivu deal ( 2/11M) next fall. Even that would be a bargain, and playing on the fact that he has already made his money and wants his family to stay in one place. He is clearly a #1C at this point....maybe not elite, but just one tier down.

To trade him when he has taken less and WAY over performed his deal would be pretty tacky.

 

[Wabit]

Unless we fall out of contention and he wants to go, we would keep him here unless we get blown away by a deal. He's is at the age where he doesn't want to move any more, and MN is pretty close to ideal for him. We'll see how he finishes off the year, but if he gets 60pts. Again it'll be hard not to offer him a Koivu deal ( 2/11M) next fall. Even that would be a bargain, and playing on the fact that he has already made his money and wants his family to stay in one place. He is clearly a #1C at this point....maybe not elite, but just one tier down.

To trade him when he has taken less and WAY over performed his deal would be pretty tacky.

That's about where I am with Staal. He should be good for 60-70p and 20-30g again this year. That loss would hard to make up from the center position.

 

[Bazeek]

I love him, but I think he'll be a valuable trade piece to a playoff team in 2018-19.

Looking at how this season is going, I think we need to trade him + a few other major pieces. We're due for a rehaul.

I'd really like to re-sign Staal if he's at all interested in a deal like Koivu's: $5.5-ish million for 3-4 years or something. I realize he can get a lot more than that on the open market, but he's also at that age (and disposition, as far as I can tell) where guys like to stick in Minnesota. I don't really mind giving him more money either, as long as the years stay low-ish.

But I wouldn't blame him for wanting a longer deal or taking a discount for a team that's got better odds of going on a cup run. If the Penguins are in similar shape in two seasons, I could totally see him signing a cheap, 1-year deal there to play in his brother's old spot. If not them, whoever 2019-2020's version of the 2017-2018 Penguins are.

In a perfect world, if it didn't seem like we could/would re-sign him, we'd trade him at the 2019 deadline. Unfortunately, I cannot for the life of me see Fletcher trading Staal if we're in a playoff spot, or even still aspiring for a playoff spot, and it seems likely that we're at least a bubble team for this season and next. Of course there's no guarantee that Fletcher's even the one making that decision if it's being made next year. If there's a new GM here that wanted to start making changes quickly, a Staal trade would be a great jumping-off point for him.

Still, I'd really rather just keep him if we can do it without extending him into Matt Cullen Territory.

 

[57special]

Oh yeah, we trade him at the TDL in 2019 if he isn't signed already, and we get a good offer. I'm assuming that he will be signed before that, though, unless his play falls off or he decides that he wants to test the market. He will be 35 at that time, so I would argue against any deal longer than two years. If he wants an NMC(which is reasonable on a 2 yr. contract for a vet)then we can leverage the amount down a bit.

He has kids and the last thing he probably wants to do is uproot them. For a Canadian from Thunder Bay, Minnesota is about as close to home as he's going to get, and an easy sell.