Confirmed Trade: [MIN/BUF] Marcus Johansson for Eric Staal

[Dickie Dunn]

Consider for a moment that only bottom of the league teams were left on Staal's NMC list. Which of those teams is even interested in a 36 year old Staal let alone at the cost of a good asset? I'm not by any means defending it but this is a classic baby out with the bath water situation.

 

[Cogburn]

I don't see this as a horrible trade.

Johansson is versatile and younger, so I don't think the Wild did awful here. I though MJ was one of the few safe forwards on the Sabres this off season. Staal may have wanted out (who knows), but they've been hinting at changes coming. Maybe it's a simple as the Wild wanting a change of leadership?

Staal to Buffalo is a short term gain here, but as has been stated, they need some proven veteran leadership. A boost in talent can't hurt either.

 

[WeDislikeEich]

50/50 chance Staal just retires, and I bet Buffalo knows this. If they get Mojo’s $ off the books, it would still be a win for them.

Sure didn’t sound like that by the way Kevyn Adams raved about Staal.

 

[HotDish]

from 31 Thoughts...

It was a smart move by Buffalo, although Staal, who is building a retirement home in Minnesota, was completely caught by surprise — and disappointed he found out when his phone blew up. (In case anyone was worried he wouldn’t report, I’m told that’s not happening — he’s going to play.)

31 Thoughts: Is Matt Dumba next up on the Wild trade block? - Sportsnet.ca

Damn that hurts to hear. I know he loves it here. I know it is a business but still. I wonder if the rumors of him retiring of he was traded will come true.

 

[57special]

Who cares if Johnsson is younger? MN has young players, just no legit C's. Johnsson is not a C, is 30 yo, and is simply not in the same class of player as Eric Staal. Guerin pulled off a couple of decent trades and a couple of OK signings, but this is a gaffe. Staal outplayed his contracts by a large amount in Minnesota. To think that he is part of the problem in MN is laughable, especially as Guerin was recently touting Victor Rask as a player...yes, that's right, the Victor Rask who couldn't get off the bench and makes 1m more per year than Eric Staal.

We have guys like Parise making over 7M, Zuccarello making 6M, Rask making 4M, all on medium to long term contracts. Yet Eric Staal(3,25M)on an expiring contract and their second leading scorer is who you trade?

 

[Thorton02]

Damn that hurts to hear. I know he loves it here. I know it is a business but still. I wonder if the rumors of him retiring of he was traded will come true.

Maybe he'll lose his love for the game and Buffalo will cancel his contract. Buffalo essentially free's up the $4 million from Mogo's salary and Staal goes back to work on his retirement home.

 

[tsujimoto74]

Damn that hurts to hear. I know he loves it here. I know it is a business but still. I wonder if the rumors of him retiring of he was traded will come true.

I'm gonna spoil the end of the quote for you, but no, he's playing.

 

[Philadelphia Ducks]

Man, feel bad for Staal having to spend his twilight years with the Sabres

 

[Bounces R Way]

I can only conclude that Bill Guerin is planning to lace em up next year and play center for the Wild.

 

[La Cosa Nostra]

Maybe he'll lose his love for the game and Buffalo will cancel his contract. Buffalo essentially free's up the $4 million from Mogo's salary and Staal goes back to work on his retirement home.

And that is an awful ending for Buffalo then. Johansson isn't a player you just move off your team for nothing just to save cap. He has 1 year left. He is one of the few .5 ppg+ forwards the Sabres had. He wasn't a negative value player, at the deadline or even before the season starts he would bring back a 3. A 2 at the tdl likely. Same with Staal. Minny didn't get destroyed here (Marjo can actually extend there being only 30, so if Minny is looking to extend him 2-3 years at a Staal type hit) that is not too bad for them. They trade likely Staals last year as a 50-55 point center and get a guy who will at least put up 40 and possibly up to 50 for the next 3 years. But for this year Buffalo definitely won it. They finally replace RoRs scoring at 2c and insulate their elite prospect.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Damn that hurts to hear. I know he loves it here. I know it is a business but still. I wonder if the rumors of him retiring of he was traded will come true.

mom sure he’ll return to Minnesota. Great place to live.

though hopefully has a good time in Buffalo, he may be getting skinner and Cozens on his wings, which should be fun for him.

 

[explore]

Who cares if Johnsson is younger? MN has young players, just no legit C's. Johnsson is not a C, is 30 yo, and is simply not in the same class of player as Eric Staal. Guerin pulled off a couple of decent trades and a couple of OK signings, but this is a gaffe. Staal outplayed his contracts by a large amount in Minnesota. To think that he is part of the problem in MN is laughable, especially as Guerin was recently touting Victor Rask as a player...yes, that's right, the Victor Rask who couldn't get off the bench and makes 1m more per year than Eric Staal.

We have guys like Parise making over 7M, Zuccarello making 6M, Rask making 4M, all on medium to long term contracts. Yet Eric Staal(3,25M)on an expiring contract and their second leading scorer is who you trade?

I think you pointed out exactly why E. Staal was the first to go. He was signed to the least amount and was an expiring contract, so he was the easiest to trade.

I also read some speculation that the Wild have something of a "country club" issue with your locker room, which makes sense when you have big-name guys signed to FA contracts nearing the end of their careers like Parise, Suter, and Staal (who was apparently golfing when he learned of the trade; though he didn't make most of his money in Minn.)

I do feel for Minn. fans though and hope you guys can rebuild/retool relatively quickly.

 

[Woodrow]

mom sure he’ll return to Minnesota. Great place to live.

though hopefully has a good time in Buffalo, he may be getting skinner and Cozens on his wings, which should be fun for him.

Skinner and Staal never meshed well in Carolina. Actually I don't think Skinner meshes well with anyone.

 

[VaporTrail]

Man, feel bad for Staal having to spend his twilight years with the Sabres

He's in the last year if his contract...I'm guessing there's a good chanve Buffalo doesn't make the playoffs again and he's flipped at the deadline

 

[Cory Kennedy]

Today, the Minnesota Wild traded Center Eric Staal to the Buffalo Sabres for Center Marcus Johansson. In Buffalos favor, they needed a 2nd line Center and with Eric Staals resume and experience he was the perfect guy for the job. In Minnesota favor, Staal was getting old and was barely contributing for their team Standings wise and they needed a younger 1st line Center.

Eric Staal Career Stats

1240 Games Played
436 Goals
585 Assists
1021 Points

2019-20 Stats

66 Games Played
19 Goals
28 Assists
47 Points

Accomplishments
1x All star
2006 Cup Winner

Marcus Johansson Career Stats

648 Games Played
129 Goals
235 Assists
364 Points

2019-20 Stats

60 Games Played
9 Goals
21 Assists
30 Points

Accomplishments
NONE AT THE MOMENT



So who do yall think won this trade?

 

[Mrfenn92]

Sabres easily

 

[Cory Kennedy]

Sabres easily

Agreed

 

[hughdreamz]

Sabre’s. Close thread.

 

[Forge]

NHL fans

 

[Cory Kennedy]

Sabre’s. Close thread.

Lol

 

[Ace]

Skinner and Staal never meshed well in Carolina. Actually I don't think Skinner meshes well with anyone.

well there was the one guy where he scored 40 mostly from just outside the crease...but we can’t have them playing together again for some reason

 

[Bounces R Way]

Probably just signifies there's more to come for Minnesota. If they can find a youngish top 6 C in a trade for Dumba then this deal makes more sense.

I like it for Buffalo, really in need of some decent leadership in that locker room and Staal should provide it. Takes on some center responsibilities and lightens the load for Eichel. Should be enough on the wing that he remains reasonably productive. Wouldn't expect him to be a primary driver though, too slow for that. Mostly he's got a knack for banging in garbage around the net.

For the Wild if they can find a serviceable C and MoJo chips in ~20 goals 45 points then I think this works out fine.

 

[biturbo19]

I don't get this one at all, from a Minnesota perspective. They get the slightly more expensive, not any more productive player who isn't really a Center. What's the upside for them here? Even the fact Mojo is younger, doesn't really seem like it matters, when they're both on expiring contracts after a year anyway.

From a Buffalo perspective, it's kind of a no-brainer. It's a low-risk flyer on one year of a guy who may be seriously slowing down with old age, but is at least a real center where they need help in that #2 spot. And a guy who if i recall correctly, has actually played with Skinner a bit, with some success? The only real risk, is if Staal decides to just retire instead of play out the year in a new city during this whole pandemic deal. But it doesn't really sound like that's a likely scenario.

 

[Thorton02]

How is Staal on faceoffs and defensive responsibility? I know he's not a Selke caliber centerman, but is he decent or a total liability.

While I think a #2 center was the organization's biggest difficency for the last couple years and the org punted instead of actually filling the hole, having Staal could allow us to move Skinner back with Eichel and Reinhart to the 2nd line to play with Staal, assuming Staal isn't also terribly slow.

 

[Bazeek]

How is Staal on faceoffs and defensive responsibility? I know he's not a Selke caliber centerman, but is he decent or a total liability.

While I think a #2 center was the organization's biggest difficency for the last couple years and the org punted instead of actually filling the hole, having Staal could allow us to move Skinner back with Eichel and Reinhart to the 2nd line to play with Staal, assuming Staal isn't also terribly slow.

He's fine at faceoffs. They're not his specialty but it seems like he usually wins more than he loses.

Defense isn't his forte and while he was never fast he's starting to slow down noticeably. I'd caution Sabres fans to brace themselves for a slow start to the season since that's kind of been his MO for the last 4 seasons in Minnesota, and it's gotten more pronounced over time. Going by Russo, both of those things were factors in Guerin deciding to move him for someone younger and faster.

Staal's the sort of guy that can decline physically and still probably get 20 goals and 45+ points just by oozing hockey the way he does, but he's lost a lot in areas outside of offense.