We all heard the rumblings. At some point you likely heard Jordan Staal was unhappy in the locker room in the first round of the playoffs. That he wouldn't be happy in his current role for long. Tweets of Staal being sick of playing third fiddle were everywhere. And yet, talking to people in the room itself there was nothing of the sort. Not even off the record could I find anything of Staal wanting out. Yes, Jordan Staal is entering his last season before he becomes a UFA (something he shares with teammate Sidney Crosby...a slightly higher priority) and unless he is extended we could be looking at Staal as next summer's Zach Parise.

What I do think is we are entering a year where Staal rumors will be clanging around. What I don't think is they will be started by anything of Jordan Staal wanting out. It is not in Staal's character to be a malcontent. I don't see it.

Now all that being said...there are some interesting rumors swirling around Pittsburgh...as is to be expected after a top team gets knocked out in the opening round. The Flyers exposed the Penguins as a defensively soft team. Not just the defensemen. The forwards on the Penguins were horrible defensively. All of this combined into a terrible combination for star goalie Marc Andre Fleury who I thought was guilty of trying to do too much in goal to compensate for all the players left alone in front of him.

Jordan Staal has been cast as a defensive specialist since entering the NHL. That's what happens when you can play defense and are on a team with Crosby and Malkin. Staal cemented that belief by becoming a shorthanded scoring machine in his early career. However, what Staal might become this off-season is the best chip the Penguins have if they are to shape it up on the ice. The Pens need defense. They need it terribly and they have been here before. The Penguins with Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr on the ice, had to make a similar decision before they could achieve a Stanley Cup.

There are rumors out there already of teams who are interested in acquiring Jordan Staal and the one team who looks the most likely to be front and center at the coming draft is Buffalo. The Sabres have quality d-men, but would love the kind of frontline center Jordan Staal would bring them. The Sabres ownership also has strong ties to Pittsburgh and has made no bones about it.

However, the Sabres aren't the only team who will line up.... and yes, like yesterday EVERY team would love to add a star player like Kane or Staal or Suter or Parise...that is not the point. I am a broken record here, but remember what I do is report on the teams I hear about through my connections. If I hear about a team wanting a guy I will write about it....and while no team will throw a player like Staal aside, not every team is targeting him as their #1 goal in the offseason. I am quickly finding there are teams interested in Parise, teams interested in Suter, teams interested in Semin, teams interested in Staal, etc...not many teams can go for more than one HUGE contract.


Other teams who I have heard connected to Staal include Toronto and Chicago...interestingly enough two more teams with defensive depth from which to deal.

What's the Buzz?

1. What would you give up for Jordan Staal?
2. What do you want for Staal?
3. Is he a legit #1?
4. How much would you pay for Staal?

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