Minnesota Wild: Eric Staal's Signing Was Done Right

Yesterday marked the opening of the NHL’s free-agency period and the Minnesota Wild started strongly signing veteran center Eric Staal to a 3-year deal worth $10.5 million. This is actually one of the more value signings made by the team in a long time, and Staal could prove to be a big piece going forward.

The Minnesota Wild opened the first day of free-agency with a bang as they signed veteran center Eric Staal to a 3-year contract worth $10.5 million. Staal who was traded at the deadline from Carolina to the Rangers brings with him to the Wild the experience of 12 NHL seasons and a Stanley Cup Championship. Staal is looking forward to the opportunity the Wild bring with their recent re-tooling and pursuit of a winning club. As he explained to NHL.com “That’s what I wanted going into today, and I’m going to get an opportunity to with a new coach and with a team that’s hungry to win.”

The expectation that the Wild would acquire a top tier center has been met, and yet some are saying this might not be a great move, and will go down as one of the final blunders of GM Chuck Fletcher’s time with the Wild. Many in the State of Hockey wanted the Wild to catch a bigger fish, but the fact of the matter is that signing Staal was a solid pickup for the Wild for a bunch of reasons.

Staal brings more veteran leadership to a team that had issues with players stepping up and playing to their potential. As a former long-time captain of the Hurricanes, Staal knows how to run a locker room and would be another strong veteran voice to help Bruce Boudreau keep players accountable. As a player who’s seen who learned from some of the best NHL leaders of all-time like Rod Brind’Amour and Ron Francis, he knows what it takes to keep his fellow players in line and how to charge on to a championship.

Mar 17, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick (32) makes a save in front of New York Rangers center Eric Staal (12) during the third period at Staples Center. The Kings won in overtime 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports /

Staal’s role will be to complement the existing lineup not try to carry it. With such strong players already, Fletcher still believes the Wild lineup has the talent to win as he did at the trade deadline. Boudreau also believes that as he’s been quoted as saying he’d actually be fine with no trades. Staal is perfect because the pressure is off and he can simply play his game and not worry about having to be more than he needs to be.

His production might be tailing off a bit, but Staal’s overall game is still strong. His possession numbers are still as strong as ever. Last season with the Carolina and the Rangers he boasted a CF % of 55.5 and a FF% of 54.6 showing that when he was on the ice the team was scoring more than half the time. He also played excellent defense as he finished tied for 11th in the NHL in takeaways. These are the things he has to do as he’ll most likely be paired up with other linemates that can finish…he just has put them in a position to score.

“Things haven’t gone well for him the last year and a half statistically speaking, but I have a hard time thinking that 31 in today’s day and age with how fit the players are that he’s all of a sudden gotten old. I think he’ll be rejuvenated by the situation here.” – Wild Head Coach Bruce Boudreau via The Star Tribune

The change of team will certainly spark some scoring. There’s no doubt that Staal’s production has been hurt by his years in Carolina with so many weaker players since his 40 goal seasons. The chance to play with a sounder defensive group will allow Staal the opportunity to concentrate more on offense. Boudreau’s system will lend itself well to Staal and possibly open back up his offensive talent. Boudreau puts it best what he thinks Staal is capable of as he was quoted in the Star Tribune as saying “Things haven’t gone well for him the last year and a half statistically speaking, but I have a hard time thinking that 31 in today’s day and age with how fit the players are that he’s all of a sudden gotten old. I think he’ll be rejuvenated by the situation here.”

Finally, this was a great deal financially for the Wild. Staal signing was done in a very cap friendly way as his $10.5 million salary over three seasons equates to an annual cap hit of only $3.5 million. That’s a fair salary for the production that Staal put up last season, and is a bargain that allows for more additions to be made. After signing Chris Stewart as well yesterday for an annual hit of $1.15 million, the Wild still have $6.9 million in cap space and that means they still can acquire needed more pieces.

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The David Backes deal with Boston is a glimpse at what could have happened to the Wild had they not gotten a value signing like Staal. Backes’ new contract with the B’s has him with annual cap hit of $6 million, had the Wild done that, and still signed Stewart, they would currently only have $4.4 million remaining (yes I know I’ve advocated for Backes in the past, but the finances of now are what they are). That would mean the team could secure Dumba and Kuemper for about $2 million apiece, and that would be it for acquisitions.

Bottom line is the Wild did not overpay for Staal. The salary and the term all both well within the Wild’s plans and could still offer them the flexibility to add more pieces in free-agency, or perhaps more importantly give the Wild the cap space they need to make a trade comfortably.

Next: Minnesota Wild Free Agent Signings Add to The Team

The Wild are better for this signing pure and simple. Had they overpaid you might make the case otherwise, but since they got a solid veteran center at a good price and low term this is a good deal. If Staal finds his 40 goal form again, then his signing will be genius. If he even finds his 20 goal form this signing will be awesome.

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Minnesota Wild: Eric Staal’s Signing Was Done Right

By Danny Lambert | Jul 2, 2016