stingray said:
I agree with this post. 8.2 mil for a 70-75 pt. player is a bit steep. For those suggesting he is only in a slump, better look again. This year would mark the 4th year he has not cracked those totals.
Staal has never been below 70 pts for a season. He was 11th overall in scoring last season with 76 points and that was 4th among NHL centers.
I had a look at media on his slump. The reports about him were pretty good including from Maurice. He was working hard, playing two ways, etc.
Looked at his stats. The only significant fall off is in PP scoring - not even strength where one has to work a little more for what they get. Pitkanen has been concussed and Kaberle was not in good shape so that hurt their PP back end. And the other thing that's off related to his scoring is his shooting percentage 6.x% - like he's snake bit. He's still getting close to his typical rates of shots, takeaways, hits, blocks, etc.
Traditionally, like his brother and often with other tall, lanky centers, he hasn't ever been that good on faceoffs. This year, he's slightly over 50%.
His injury history is very good. - missed 13 games in 6+ seasons (2 games for personal reasons). No concussions or serious injuries noted. He's only 27 years old - likely in his prime probably for 4-5 more years
I also looked at the team salary rankings. Aside from '07-08, the other five years, the Canes have been in the bottom third of the league in salaries or lower - close to a bottom feeder/cap floor team. Rutheford is a good GM so he's often been able to flip them into a slightly below average team nibbling for a playoff berth. But it's not like he's playing with a really talented roster like a number of the top centers in the league - which has to hurt his scoring some. When he did in their Cup run, he scored 100 pts.
If he wasn't an ideal fit for Kessel and I'm not sure that's the case, he could drive a second scoring line - kind of a 1A 1B top six.
I don't see any obvious issue other than a slumping center on a slumping team. If I have no shot at Getzlaf, I'd probably do that deal. Good centers are so hard to come by.