As the day of reckoning approaches for Carolina Hurricanes captain Eric Staal, the Nashville Predators continue to lack center depth. You know what that means.
With Eric Staal’s future hanging in the balance, the Carolina Hurricanes continue to search through their options.
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The 2016 unrestricted free agent will likely have his future decided on in the next few months. He will either be resigned by the club to an extension, or he will be dealt at or before the trade deadline on February 29, pending his approval due to his no trade clause.
There are plenty of teams that could use a player like Eric Staal. The general consensus around the league is, if he is surrounded by talent, he can be a top-line center, despite not being as limber and quick as he used to be.
One team in desperate need of a star center who stares at the ceiling when he misses a shot is the Nashville Predators, who enter Monday night’s action as the 5th place team in a very competitive Central Division. The club ranks tied for last in goals for in the division.
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Offense has been the big downfall for this club. James Neal leads the Preds with a respectable 18 points in 26 games, but of the 7 players in double digits in points, 4 of them are defensemen – Roman Josi, Shea Weber, Ryan Ellis, and Seth Jones.
This doesn’t scream offense. The Carolina Hurricanes are in a somewhat similar situation with Justin Faulk leading the offensive charge with 18 points of his own.
Eric Staal could step in and play top-line center minutes right off the bat for this team, while being flanked by highly skilled and dangerous players like Filip Forsberg and the aforementioned James Neal.
Center depth is Nashville’s worst problem right now, and that needs to be addressed if they want to make a good run at a Stanley Cup this season.
Quite frankly, Calle Jarnkrok won’t cut it as a first line center in the NHL, especially with his lack of experience.
Predators AM lines vs. BOS:
— Adam Vingan (@AdamVingan) December 7, 2015
Forsberg-Jarnkrok-Neal
Wilson-Ribeiro-Arvidsson
Hodgson-Sissons-Smith
Nystrom-Gaustad-Watson/Salomaki
On the other hand, his free-flowing lettuce is at an elite level with a very bright future.
The Nashville Predators are just one of many teams across the NHL that are in need of a top-flight center, and Eric Staal seems like a great fit for their team and their good blend of size and skill up front.
The Preds also don’t lack assets to give back in exchange for the 31-year-old forward. They have this year’s 1st round draft pick among other draft picks, and good prospects at the forward position in Kevin Fiala (2014 11th overall pick) and Jimmy Vesey (2012 3rd round pick).
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Fiala shows great upside as a skilled winger, yet slightly undersized at 5’11”, 192 lbs. Vesey has torn up the college game at Harvard over the past 3 and a half years. He was a Hobey Baker finalist for the best collegiate hockey player as a junior and is now well under way in his senior campaign.
Eric Staal may not be traded, but if he is, he might not go far. Him moving just one state over makes a lot of sense for both teams. Now, we will just have to wait and see if any of this actually comes to fruition.