Quote:
Originally Posted by GranteedEV
No, we don't want him and he's a cap dump for them. Staal's possession stats since Anton Stralman became a Bolt border on Kris Russell territory. And Russell even skates better. Yep. I would rather re-up Kris Russell. Not that I advocate re-upping Kris Russell. Let's not do that. Staal was carried by Stralman in his prime.
I just can't see Hartley trusting an 18 year old defensemen, much less in a top 4 role. He handles a 22-year old defenseman in Hamilton with more kid-gloves than he was getting as a 20 year old on a President's Trophy winner. Even if Chychrun is NHL-ready I would expect him to finish out his Junior career and then the second he shows any semblence of panic in the NHL he'll be down in AHL to season.
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It seems that winning does not matter at all to you. Staal is a top 4 D-man playing every game for a team that has pretty well qualified for the playoffs before the trade deadline.
He was a top 4 d-man on the President Trophy team last year as well as their 19 playoff games
2 years ago he was a top-4 d-man for the regular season as well as their 25 playoff games.
He is making 5.7 M for the next 5 years ... when he will be as old as Gio is when his 6.7 / year deal kicks in. Gio is still looking to play his first NHL playoff game as a top-4 d-man as is Hamilton making the same money as Staal.