Should the Carolina Hurricanes Trade For Former Cane Eric Staal?

The Carolina Hurricanes are 7th in the NHL in goals for. Should the Canes enhance their offensive efforts further with a trade for the former captain?

The Carolina Hurricanes have had a phenomenal season so far on the offensive side. The Canes rank 7th out of 31 teams in goals for. The Hurricanes also rank 5th in the NHL on the power play with 28 goals and a conversion rate of 24.1%. The team even has 4 players who are all scoring at or nearly a point per game basis with Svechnikov 1.0, Teravainen 1.0, Hamilton .94 and Aho .91.

The point is, the team has tremendous offensive firepower. However, at times this season the Canes haven’t produced offensively. Out of 37 games this season, the Canes have scored 2 or fewer goals 14 times. Scoring less than 2 goals in a game is bound to happen often for any NHL team but the Hurricanes must try and get more consistent.

The reason for this inconsistency could be related to the amount of injuries the Hurricanes forward group has suffered in the first part of the season. Martin Necas has missed 4 games, Jordan Martinook has missed 15 games and Erik Haula has missed 19 games. Those 3 players have combined for 42 (12.5%) of the teams 335 points.

The Canes may just need a healthier forward group to remain more consistent or they could be looking to unload an extra defender for a point producing forward as some rumors may suggest. According to TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun, “There are some teams wondering if the Carolina Hurricanes would trade defenseman Jake Gardiner before the trade deadline”.

Jake Gardiner was signed this past offseason by the Canes for a 4-year 16.2 million dollar deal. The defender has yet to live up to his point-producing hype as he has just 8 points in 37 games played this season compared to 30 points last season and 52 the season before that.

The defender has performed better as of late although the Canes have multiple promising defensive prospects as well as Trevor Van Riemsdyk and Haydn Fleury battling for the 6th defenseman role.

The Canes must decide whether they believe Gardiner can turn his season around and start producing more or decide if trading Gardiner could help the Canes receive an additional forward and more chances for Haydn Fleury. Then comes the question of what type of forward the Canes could potentially receive in a trade involving Jake Gardiner.

The Answer? Eric Staal.

This may be due to the fact that Eric Staal was my favorite Cane and favorite player to watch when I was growing up but Staal still has a lot to offer to this team. Staal has produced 31 points in 38 games played this season for the Minnesota Wild. Staal has also scored 4 power play goals this year for the Wild which would tie for second  on the Hurricanes with Sebastian Aho.

Not only would the addition of Eric Staal help the Canes produce more points and forward depth, Staal could also help captain with his brother Jordan Staal as Eric is one of the best Hurricanes players of all times and that role demands respect just as Justin Williams did.

The Canes have season what the return of a former player can do (i.e Justin Williams) when last year the Canes made it to the eastern conference finals. Eric Staal could provide a boost to a team that has the 3rd hardest schedule in the NHL for the remainder of the season according to Hockey-Reference.

The real question is what trade could the Wild possibly accept and how can the Canes match the salaries? The Canes could offer Jake Gardiner, Brock McGinn and a second round pick in next years draft for Eric Staal and for Minnesota to retain 10% of his salary to make the trade work.

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At fully healthy that means the Canes could put out lineups of:

• Svechnikov- Aho- Teravainen
• Niederreiter – J. Staal – E. Staal
• Dzingel- Haula- Necas
• Foegele – Wallmark- Martinook
• Slavin- Hamilton
• Edmundson – Pesce
• Fluery – Van Reimsdyk

Not only do the Canes provide an elite top 9 forward group, the trade also provides a chance for Haydn Fleury to show what made him a top 10 draft pick. The negative of the trade is that Eric Staal does carry a hefty price tag but it seems to me the Canes thrive under former players.

Also the Canes could also be seeing more of these highlights below with the addition of an old friend:

Number 12 will inevitably go up in the rafters in PNC Arena, though I believe the Canes should make it a priority to make sure he retires as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes by proposing this trade.

CC Readers: Would you welcome Eric Staal back to the Canes?