Eric Staal has been traded to the Rangers for a pair of second round draft picks and Finnish prospect Aleksi Saarela.
Advertisement
Staal leaves one brother, Jordan, in Carolina to play with brother Marc in NY. Staal is playing out 2015-16 in the final year of a seven-year, .5 million deal that carries an $8.25 million cap hit and pays him $9.5 million in salary. In 63 games this season, Staal has 10 goals and 23 assists for 33 points.
Staal has scored 30-plus goals five times in his career. He played in one game with the Capitals this season.
“We gave them a couple teams, but they knew that this is the spot I wanted to be, for obvious reasons”, Staal said. “But when you look at the big picture, and we couldn’t get comfortable on a contract term, then you can’t lose an asset like that for nothing”. The Panthers have improved their team in recent days, and now the Rangers are improving their squad by adding Staal. He was drafted sixth overall by Columbus in the 2006 NHL Draft and spent his first six seasons in the NHL with the Blue Jackets before being traded to NY in 2013. Selling when they’re a mere four points out is tough, but getting something for Staal is important.
The Rangers are sixth in the National Hockey League with a 2.82 goals-per-game average but were in the market for another scoring forward, and Staal can play wing or center. The only other players in the history of the Hartford-Carolina franchise who have skated in more games have their numbers hanging from the PNC Arena rafters Ron Francis and Glen Wesley.
Gorton says Eric Staal probably knows numerous Rangers because of Marc. NY was his one and only target.
Francis, meanwhile, is waiting until the last moment to decide whether or not to ask Staal to waive his no-trade clause, hoping that a couple wins or a couple losses before Monday will clarify just how real Carolina’s playoff chances are. The 31-year-old will be an unrestricted free agent after this season. Perhaps playing with his brother Marc Staal will help him. While it isn’t an ideal trade for the Rangers, it could have been a lot worse, considering the Hurricanes’ original asking price included players from the Rangers’ current lineup as well as a first-round pick somewhere. The team is going to have to jumble a lot considering Nash is coming back at some point (ideally) and he fits even better with Brassard and Zuccarello than JT Miller. The fact that he can play in the middle, play on the left side, has won a Cup, has won a World Championship, has won an Olympic medal, you’re talking about an elite player that’s been captain of his team, (and he) is going to bring that leadership to our group. If you’re looking for a first- or second-line player who can also kill penalties and help on the power play, Ladd is your guy.
Advertisement
For his efforts, he and goalie Cam Ward were selected as co-players of the game by their teammates.
