Have you seen his production over the last two seasons?
Of course.
Answer me this, watch Minny play in the POs. The way Eric Staal looks — would you want him to be your 4th line center in the POs? Would you take him to center your 4th line for 800k per?
He is clearly one of the worst players on the ice, in all series. I am fully aware that he scored 42 goals this season, but watch him play.
I am not saying that Eric Staal sucks in all areas of hockey, he is clutch and still very good in some areas. But he isn’t capable of staying with the pace the way the game is played right now at center, not even remotely. JMHO, anyone is free to disagree. But I would definitely advice anyone to actually watch how he looks in the POs right now.
And it was the same last year. He has 3 pts in his last 9 games despite a ton of ice time.