by Brandt Corbin
How many years will Jordan Staal accept being a third line center? Lets face it on some teams he would be a number one centerman. With the exception of Detroit’s Pavel Datysuk and Vancouver’s Ryan Kesler, Staal is the leagues best two way center. The 23-year-old Pittburgh Penguin is playing behind Sidney Crosby and Evengi Malkin (when the two are healthy). If one were to combine all of their salaries, (Crosby, Malkin and Staal) make 21.4 million per year.
Malkin to play wing with Crosby?
One option for Dan Blysma, head coach of the Penguins is to move Malkin to the wing and play with Crosby, then have Staal center the second line. Pretty nice option to have'; because you could divide the three up onto separate lines at anytime. But, fact of the matter is the Pens are thin on the wing. Chris Kunitz and James Neal can score 30 goals, but from there they are lucky if they have two or three that can be 15 goal scorers.
Would the Pens consider moving Malkin?
On top of the 21.4 million committed to three centerman, they have over another 21 million invested in four defenseman and 1 goalie. Numbers wise 42 million in eight players is too much so eventually they would need to make a move. With Malkin being the most obvious candidate, mainly for a few reasons. One, they’re not moving Crosby. Two, Staal overall is the more complete center, and has performed much better in the post season than Malkin. Tons of teams from the LA Kings, Atlanta, Minnesota, and Phoenix are just four out of many teams that would offer the Penguins a compelling package for the Russian superstar. Would the Penguins not be better served with two younger wingers who make 2-3 million, giving them cap space and options on the wing for Crosby or Staal. Another reason they would benefeit from moving Malkin is they have Dustin Jeffrey and Mark Letestu, two youngsters who have played well down the middle this year.
Other reasons why they might be forced to make a move is the following; they have eight forwards, seven de-man and 2 goalies under contract for the (2011-12) season. Problem is this they have a projected 3.67 million dollars in cap space available. The following players currently on their roster that are scheduled to be UFA’s are Max Talbot, Pascal Dupuis, Michael Rupp, Aaron Asham, Craig Adams and Chris Conner. Now to be fair Matt Cooke is one of the eight forwards, making 1.8 million per year, it would not be a surprise to some to see his bought out or traded.
When its all said and done, the Pens control their own destiny. Whether that means moving Staal or Malkin, or holding on to both, every team in the NHL wishes they had the Penguins options down the middle.
Staal is overrated
ReplyDelete