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Hotstove, Ed. 41: Maple Leafs and Eric Staal? |
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Welcome to the Hotstove! As always, I'm your host, Travis Yost.
On Saturday, the triangular table featuring Bill Meltzer of the Philadelphia Flyers, Richard Cloutier of the Edmonton Oilers, and yours truly gathered to discuss some of the recent discussion in the blogosphere regarding a potential trade or trades between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes.
The two teams have been linked in trade rumors for quite some time, prompting many to speculate whether or not Brian Burke's interest rests with hulking #1 center Eric Staal.
Speculation continued after XM Radio's Bill Watters hinted at a possible deal with Staal as the focus, but TSN's Bob McKenzie and the Carolina front office quickly shot down any and all rumors surrounding a move of their franchise centerman.
Regardless, Watters' bit has forced us to throw on our thinking cap. Is there a deal that could persuade the Carolina Hurricanes to consider the release of Eric Staal, or is he truly an untouchable?
Although Staal's struggled mightily this year and does bring a sizable cap hit($8.25M per) with him, his game is precisely what the Toronto front office has coveted for years. In a deal, Staal could immediately draw into the top-line - the ultimate setup man for a finisher like Phil Kessel.
But, would Carolina even consider parting with Staal? If so, what kind of assets do you think the Hurricanes would require in a deal from Toronto? We'll discuss it below. Make sure to weigh in as always.
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Travis Yost: There's little denying that Eric Staal would fit perfectly into a Toronto Maple Leafs attack that's about one piece away from becoming one of the most dangerous in hockey.
With that said, making the numbers fit with a deal here is quite difficult, if only because Staal's cap hit at $8.25M per through 2015-2016 makes him a tough move. I'm not even sure the Hurricanes would be open to trading Staal at this point, but as I've always said, there's only a handful of truly untouchable players in the National Hockey League. And, for a rebuilding program like Carolina who has done a fantastic job in the scouting and coaching departments for years, they could benefit from a swap, as long as Toronto ponies up.
What helps here is that Toronto's system is no longer devoid of talent. There's plenty of assets that the Maple Leafs could dangle in front of the Hurricanes in order to entice a deal, and you'd have to imagine that at least one of the three big names - specifically Nazem Kadri, Joe Colborne, and Jake Gardiner - would be among the first negotiated into a deal.
There's your quality prospect. Now, it's time to send proven NHL talent the way of Carolina for two reasons: One, the Hurricanes need something to work with, and two, Toronto's forced into this position because they're just about $500k under the cap.
To make the numbers work, Toronto would have to include at least two veterans with sizable deals in place: Joffrey Lupul($4.25M), Clarke MacArthur($3.25M), Tim Connolly($4.75M), Nikolai Kulemin($2.35M), and Luke Schenn($3.6M).
Sure, there's other names you could include, specifically Komisarek($4.5M) and Lombardi($3.5M), but the inclusion of either would force Toronto to load up prospects the direction of Carolina to balance the obvious salary dump.
My guess is that past at least one of the big three aforementioned prospects, Carolina would also request at least one of Luke Schenn or Mikhail Grabovski. Both carry a decent number, but both are tremendously talented and could help Carolina rebuild on the fly.
As you can see, when you're taking north of eight million bucks in additional salary cap, the numbers game becomes a serious issue. It wouldn't kill a deal here, though, if only because Toronto has a number of desirable commodities making decent money to pair with quality prospects that would entice Carolina.
With Staal and Kessel on the same line, Toronto would automatically become a serious threat in the Eastern Conference. As I type this, they're locking horns with a Vancouver Canucks team in a spirited battle. The only perceived difference in talent right now? Down the middle.
My question to you - what does a fair market suggest Eric Staal's worth is from a Toronto standpoint? Offer up a deal.
Richard Cloutier: Eric's career has Staal'ed in Carolina. It took me 7 minutes to think of this opening line.
Carolina sucks. They have three quality players in Staal, Cam Ward and Jeff Skinner, but the rest of the roster is problematic. I'm not saying they have no one, but this isn't a team with any hope of seeing the playoffs for at least the next three seasons. What needs to occur is a complete rebuild.
Rebuilds are much happier to undertake when you have lots of young assets to work with. Dealing Staal is one way the 'Canes could speed up the asset acquisition process. Yes, his contract is big and ugly, but there are plenty of teams that would spring for him. Why? Because he's big, he's a winner, and if surrounded by the right people, he could be an offensive powerhouse. There are very few players who can dominate games the way Staal can, and that makes him desirable to acquire regardless what his paycheque is.
Eric Staal is exactly what the Leafs are missing, and they should absolutely attempt to acquire him. Working in the Leafs favor is that they are young and have a position (defense) that can afford to sacrifice some people. The biggest difficulty in the Leafs making this sort of deal is their current salary cap position. They would need to shift several million in salary before they could add Staal.
So where do we start? Let's start by constructing the Staal deal. If Carolina is dealing to rebuild, the first player they get from the Leafs is Luke Schenn. Add to that a quality center prospect, Joe Colborne. Add to that one more young asset, Nikolai Kulemin. Some of you will think this is too much for Staal, and others will think too little. Usually the team that gets the best player wins the deal, so TO still comes out ahead in this. Keep in mind how impossible it is to acquire a legit #1 center with size.
This deal would still leave the Leafs around $2.5mil short in required cap space. My suggestion...find a team that is starving for a defenseman, like the Oilers, and deal to them Mike Komisarek for a prospect or draft pick. Maybe Komisarek won't willing go to the Oilers. Fine. Other teams would be interested in him. Give him away if needed. Tie a big bow on his head. The Leafs need Staal more than they need Komisarek.
Bill Meltzer: Quick response to this one. I don't see Eric Staal going anywhere, despite his down season so far.
Brian Burke should absolutely pursue it if Staal is he's available, but I were Carolina, I'd demand something north of what the Flyers got for Jeff Carter -- which has worked out well for Philadelphia and has not improved Columbus. And then if I were Burke I'd say thanks but no thanks. End of discussion.
Carolina has the second lowest payroll in the NHL, and that includes Staal's massive contract. They have tied their future to him as their centerpiece player in a deal that runs through 2015-16.
So even though the Hurricanes are not a playoff team and may not be again for awhile and Staal has had a forgettable first half, Carolina is no rush to deal him. Nor should they be.
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