The Penguins and forward Jordan Staal agreed to a four-year extension. Financial terms of the deal were not released.
The deal begins at the start of the 2009-10 season and will last through 2012-13. Staal is still playing under the terms of his entry-level deal he signed prior to the 2006-07 season. Staal was the Penguins first-round pick (No. 2 overall) in 2007.
EN Says: Well, we guess this puts to rest those "Staal for whoever" trade rumors. Ray Shero and company obviously see him as a vital part of this franchise's core and took a big step to ensure he stays in a Penguins uniform for a significant length of time.
Assuming the money is responsible (and we have no reason to second guess Shero in that regard), we like the move. Granted, Staal's offense has declined after a strong rookie year and that has frustrated many followers of the Penguins, but he is 20 years old. He is still growing mentally and physically and has a world of potential. While his role with this franchise is still probably not clearly defined, he offers so many possibilities in areas as a power forward, a shut-down defensive forward and franchise player.
That said, this clearly doesn't bode well for those who would like to get a world-class first-line scoring winger for Sidney Crosby, including potentially Crosby himself. Given the uncertainty of how much the NHL's salary cap could rise or even fall in subsequent seasons, locking up a talent like Staal to a long-term deal obviously sucks up a significant portion of whatever cap room Shero has to work with. And when you consider the deals others like Brooks Orpik, Marc-Andre Fleury and Evgeni Malkin inked prior to this season, the team already has a lot of money accounted for.
Another thing to consider is prior to this deal, Staal was easily Shero's biggest commodity in a potential deal for a scoring winger. He's a player with a world of talent who was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. Moving Staal would've been the most logical route Shero could've taken if he really wanted to pursue a winger for Crosby.
Personally, we still see Staal in the mold of a Rick Nash, the Blue Jackets' franchise player. He's a big body who has shown the ability to score on the wing in the past. He can handle the puck in traffic just like Nash and has a similar build. Staal is 6-foot-4, 220 pounds while Nash is 6-foot-4, 218 pounds. Staal just isn't as aggressive as Nash.
Is our comparison to Nash a little over the top? Perhaps. Nash is easily the best power forward in the sport. But on the second day of the free agency signing period, Shero held a "state of the union" press conference to address where the Penguins sat in terms of personnel. He named Staal specifically as someone they would depend on to fill Ryan Malone's role as a power forward, particularly on the power play. (14:50 mark of the video).
We won't go as far as to say Staal will be a pure 40-goal threat like Nash, but he has so much more to offer in other aspects of the game.
UPDATE: Shelly Anderson has the cap hit at $4 million per season.
(Photo: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Posted
Jan 08 2009, 11:55 AM
by
Seth Rorabaugh