Beaver County Times
http://www.timesonline.com/sports/
April 30, 3012
BOSTON, MA - APRIL 03: Jordan Staal #11 of the Pittsburgh Penguins takes the puck in the second period against the Boston Bruins on April 3, 2012 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Penguins general manager Ray Shero once told me, quite definitely, he would not trade Jordan Staal.
But three straight disappointing playoff exits can change a lot.
Assuming the NHL's new CBA still has a salary cap, the Penguins may conclude they can't keep all three of their star centers. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are going to want cap max when their deals come due in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Staal won't get that, but may be a $7 million player.
All it takes is one team.
The Penguins won't trade Malkin. He's got some maddening traits, but he provides superstar insurance should Crosby's concussion problem recur. The Penguins have had the game's top player virtually non-stop since 1984. It's a nice marketing tool. It sells tickets and merchandise. Wins games, too.
That might make Staal odd man out.
If Shero isn't loath to deal Staal, he should be. Two-way behemoths like Staal win championships. His shorthanded goal vs. Detroit in Game 4 of the 2009 Stanley Cup final was a pivotal moment in that series. He was the Penguins' best player in this year's first-round loss to Philadelphia.
Staal is a big-game performer. But the Penguins can't stand pat after what happened. They might, but they shouldn't.
Staal won't fetch great return, not with just one season remaining on his contract. His biggest value might be enabling the Penguins to ditch defenseman Paul Martin, an excruciating bust since joining the team via free agency in 2010.
Want Staal? You've got to take Martin, too. The Penguins might get nothing much in return besides cap space.
Two interesting rumors are out there:
One moots the idea of trading Staal to Edmonton for the first pick in the draft. The Oilers have a promising young team, and Staal - still only 23 - would be the perfect cornerstone: A talented, youthful leader with countless veteran qualities.
The likely No. 1 choice is high-scoring Russian winger Nail Yakupov. The Penguins would get a monster talent at a position of need on a three-year entry-level contract.
For the deal to make sense for Edmonton, the Oilers would have to negotiate an extension with Staal before the fact. It's mindless speculation, but there would be benefit both ways.
The other scenario holds that the NHL's three Staal brothers -- Jordan, Carolina's Eric and the New York Rangers' Marc -- want to play on the same team and will soon begin pursuing that. Intriguing, but unbelievable. It's not like the Staals to indulge fantasy and ego. Such a possibility might be fun beer talk during summers in Thunder Bay, Ontario, but nothing more.
For a star athlete, Jordan Staal's ego is minimal. But he has ambition.
If that ambition went beyond being a third-line center, would you blame him? If he declined the chance to play between Matt Cooke and Tyler Kennedy in perpetuity, would you blame him?
When Staal played second-line center in Crosby's absence, he produced. When Crosby returned, Staal was a third-liner again. His place in the pecking order was clear. Discouraging? You bet. There's no denying the talent of Crosby and Malkin. There's also no denying Staal deserves a chance at better.
But that chance may never come in Pittsburgh.
Then again, would it be much fun to be first-line center in, say, Columbus? Be careful what you wish for.
Mark Madden hosts a radio show 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WXDX-FM (105.9).
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