Jordan Staal might be the most debated hockey player in Pittsburgh since the lockout. Drafted second overall in 2006 many believe that Staal has underproduced since cracking the roster during his rookie year. The other segment of Pens fans believe he is vital to the success of the Pens. However, there is a lot of talk of Pens fans wanting him traded to bring in a winger for captain Sidney Crosby. These fans are essentially misinformed and their logic is misguided.
Jordan Staal centers the 3rd line that is a huge factor in the winning dynamic of the Penguins. Staal routinely sees minutes against the opponent's top line, and shuts down many of them. This frees up the top two lines and allows them to log minutes which can be focused more on scoring and less on defending. Staal fulfilled his role so well that he was a Selke Trophy finalist during the 2009-10 season. Staal and the third line have been involved in some major game changing events, and even series changing events. The most memorable one is his short handed goal against the Detroit Red Wings in Game 4 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals:
Staal started the season on injured reserve due to lingering issues from his foot injury suffered during the 2010 postseason against Montreal. When he was ready to return, he suffered a broken hand in practice. He finally laced them up for the first time in the Winter Classic and ended up playing 42 games for the Penguins this season. Seeing top six ice time for the first instance since his rookie year, Staal recorded 30 points (11G 19A). With that total, Staal was on pace to surpass is career high in points (49) had he played a full season. Everyone complained about him producing and he showed what he could do when given more ice time.
The thing about Jordan Staal is that he would be a center on one of the top two lines of almost every other NHL team. The other thing is that with the Penguins he gives the lineup enormous depth down the center.This give opposing coaches fits with match-ups, because it exposes them to unfavorable match-ups when Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are on the ice.
Crosby showed that he does not need a winger to help that line produce. He put up 50 goals a year ago between Pascal Dupuis and Chris Kunitz. Add to the fact that James Neal is ready to saddle up next to Sid on the wing and the debate on whether we need to trade Jordan Staal ends.
One thing that would have been interesting to see is whether Malkin could make the move to wing and allow Staal to center the second line. We didn't get that chance, but the two had chemistry during Staal's rookie year. Many will disagree with Malkin playing wing, but combined with Staal's defensive style, that line could be deadly on both ends of the ice. Many forget that during the Cup year, Malkin was tops of the leagues in the take-away category. Both of those players on the same line could lead to great things for the Penguins, if they Malkin and Staal can get on the same page.
I think the criticism with Staal is misguided, because he is not going to be a top scorer on the Pens. That is not his role, and not one that the Pens really need him to undertake. Having a shut down center for the money that Staal is making would be very hard to come by. We need to enjoy that while it lasts.
Staal started the season on injured reserve due to lingering issues from his foot injury suffered during the 2010 postseason against Montreal. When he was ready to return, he suffered a broken hand in practice. He finally laced them up for the first time in the Winter Classic and ended up playing 42 games for the Penguins this season. Seeing top six ice time for the first instance since his rookie year, Staal recorded 30 points (11G 19A). With that total, Staal was on pace to surpass is career high in points (49) had he played a full season. Everyone complained about him producing and he showed what he could do when given more ice time.
The thing about Jordan Staal is that he would be a center on one of the top two lines of almost every other NHL team. The other thing is that with the Penguins he gives the lineup enormous depth down the center.This give opposing coaches fits with match-ups, because it exposes them to unfavorable match-ups when Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are on the ice.
Crosby showed that he does not need a winger to help that line produce. He put up 50 goals a year ago between Pascal Dupuis and Chris Kunitz. Add to the fact that James Neal is ready to saddle up next to Sid on the wing and the debate on whether we need to trade Jordan Staal ends.
One thing that would have been interesting to see is whether Malkin could make the move to wing and allow Staal to center the second line. We didn't get that chance, but the two had chemistry during Staal's rookie year. Many will disagree with Malkin playing wing, but combined with Staal's defensive style, that line could be deadly on both ends of the ice. Many forget that during the Cup year, Malkin was tops of the leagues in the take-away category. Both of those players on the same line could lead to great things for the Penguins, if they Malkin and Staal can get on the same page.
I think the criticism with Staal is misguided, because he is not going to be a top scorer on the Pens. That is not his role, and not one that the Pens really need him to undertake. Having a shut down center for the money that Staal is making would be very hard to come by. We need to enjoy that while it lasts.
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