Sabres Acquire Center Eric Staal from Wild for Marcus Johansson

[North Buffalo]

Its a start long way to go... Staal is a pain to play against, big body and nasty. His attitude can only help young players including Eichel.  Still team needs more talent on forward lines.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

15 hours ago, In The Buff said:

Dominic Hasek would probably qualify. But outside of that not really.

Agree with all your points

Hasek was not the Dominator when he was aquired.  It was a marginal goalie for an equally marginal goalie.

No one knew who he would become.  That scum bucket did fix the team, but no one had any inclination that he would when the trade was made.  Muckler didn't even trust him to play in place of a broken down Fuhr.

[DarthEbriate]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

That was very different. All 3 of those players had AHL experience or other pro experience before that line did its thing. 

I lied, Vanek only played college prior to that line doing its thing. Roy had NHL/AHL experience and Max had KHL, NHL experience. 

I think it is difficult to project the same thing out when one of the pieces is a newly rehabilitated Tage and a first year pro in Cozens. 

Vanek had a full year in Rochester (42/36/68) with Roy during the lockout. And Max was already 26 years old. A more similar age-based combination would be something like Kahun-Mitts-Tage, but only if Mitts and Tage had torn up the AHL last season.

Stay on target --- has any research been done/shared yet on the competition Staal faced in Minnesota? Did opponents treat his line as the top line or did their best D take on the Parise/Ek/Kunin line?

[Drag0nDan]

8 hours ago, sabresparaavida said:

Thinking about it, I think Skinner-Eichel-Kahun  would be a decent line. Kahun is good at primary assists, and would likely thrive on a line with 2 good scorers. That would free up a second line of Olofsson-Staal-Reinhart, which should be really solid. The third line though...

Third line is where a playoff team makes their bones.  Either a shutdown line that can chip in some scoring - or a young line that flies.  

[LGR4GM]

8 minutes ago, DarthEbriate said:

Vanek had a full year in Rochester (42/36/68) with Roy during the lockout. And Max was already 26 years old. A more similar age-based combination would be something like Kahun-Mitts-Tage, but only if Mitts and Tage had torn up the AHL last season.

Stay on target --- has any research been done/shared yet on the competition Staal faced in Minnesota? Did opponents treat his line as the top line or did their best D take on the Parise/Ek/Kunin line?

Opponent strength actually matters less to outcomes than linemates. 

[Taro T]

6 minutes ago, New Scotland (NS) said:

Hasek was not the Dominator when he was aquired.  It was a marginal goalie for an equally marginal goalie.

No one knew who he would become.  That scum bucket did fix the team, but no one had any inclination that he would when the trade was made.  Muckler didn't even trust him to play in place of a broken down Fuhr.

With all due respect you are flat out wrong about the bolded.  Hasek had been the best goalie in the 3rd best league in the world 5 consecutive seasons prior to coming to NA.

His style was too chaotic for dinosaurs like Muckler to believe what they were watching him do, but he absolutely was the Dominator.  Don't confuse Muckler's stubbornness with a lack of skill by Dom.  Had Muckler not been a schmuck, he could've gotten something useful, rather than redundant, for Puppa, Andreychuk, & a 1st.  How much would that have helped get past a Habs team that barely got past them when LaFontaine was broken?

[DarthEbriate]

1 minute ago, LGR4GM said:

Opponent strength actually matters less to outcomes than linemates. 

Well yes, but his linemates and his Off% starts and such has already been shared. I hadn't seen anything yet if other teams planned around his line. Like if ROR jumped onto the ice when the Staal line goes over the boards, that would color my view of Staal's 5-on-5 numbers from last season (which are good).

[Sabres Fan in NS]

2 minutes ago, Taro T said:

With all due respect you are flat out wrong about the bolded.  Hasek had been the best goalie in the 3rd best league in the world 5 consecutive seasons prior to coming to NA.

His style was too chaotic for dinosaurs like Muckler to believe what they were watching him do, but he absolutely was the Dominator.  Don't confuse Muckler's stubbornness with a lack of skill by Dom.  Had Muckler not been a schmuck, he could've gotten something useful, rather than redundant, for Puppa, Andreychuk, & a 1st.  How much would that have helped get past a Habs team that barely got past them when LaFontaine was broken?

Okay, no one in NA new what he was then.  I like *Angry Taro*, but I'm a bit fragile today ... lol!!

At least we agree that Muckler was stuborn as an Ass and about half as smart.

[GASabresIUFAN]

Can someone do the analytics on Staal?

[Sabres Fan in NS]

5 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Can someone do the analytics on Staal?

There is all kinds of that junk on page 1, or 2.

[aristocrat]

saved cap space, got an actual center not a guy we want to be, former captain etc.  this team can be good next year if cozens can come in and be a ROY candidate.  

[Gabrielor]

I never dreamed we'd able to shed Mojo in this market, let alone fill part of our biggest need, AND not add anything.

 

What a first step...

 

Next, shockingly, is to acquire a center (preferably one who can be deployed defensively) 

[dudacek]

I've come around to the 'why' on this one from the Wild's perspective.

It's a simple hockey trade. Bill Guerin wanted to get younger and faster and better in transition and Mojo does that.

Unlike most of the internet,  Guerin thinks Mojo is a better player than Staal, or at least a better fit with what they are trying to do.

Something to think about.

[Hawerchuk]

From Adams press conference yesterday:

"Certainly there's a lot of thought and work that goes in before doing something like this. These decisions don't get made in a vacuum," Adams said. "There's a lot of work with the player - watching and making sure you know exactly where there game is at. A lot of conversations with Ralph [Krueger], a lot of conversations with Terry and Kim [Pegula] and what are we looking to do and why, analyzing different thoughts."

Well thank God you went over this with Kim before you pulled the trigger. Her input is key here. LMAO!!

[Stoner]

8 minutes ago, dudacek said:

I've come around to the 'why' on this one from the Wild's perspective.

It's a simple hockey trade. Bill Guerin wanted to get younger and faster and better in transition and Mojo does that.

Unlike most of the internet,  Guerin thinks Mojo is a better player than Staal, or at least a better fit with what they are trying to do.

Something to think about.

It's what you always worry about. What does the other GM know you don't know? Staal was overheard saying he wants to backpack through Europe. Marcus hated Fargo.

The key to the trade: what is Staal's character. I imagine it was a key part of the Sabres research. For now I'll assume he has gas left in the tank, wants to burn the needle below E, likes the idea of playing in Buffalo, accepts the challenge of digging us out of hopelessness, etc. (I assume because I don't see how the Sabres make the trade without confirming those things.)

Edited September 17, 2020 by PASabreFan

[Curt]

11 minutes ago, dudacek said:

I've come around to the 'why' on this one from the Wild's perspective.

It's a simple hockey trade. Bill Guerin wanted to get younger and faster and better in transition and Mojo does that.

Unlike most of the internet,  Guerin thinks Mojo is a better player than Staal, or at least a better fit with what they are trying to do.

Something to think about.

I think it’s just that former Penguins Assistant GMs are genetically predisposed to trading for Marcus Johanssons and believing that they can be top-6 C’s.

10 minutes ago, Hawerchuk said:

From Adams press conference yesterday:

"Certainly there's a lot of thought and work that goes in before doing something like this. These decisions don't get made in a vacuum," Adams said. "There's a lot of work with the player - watching and making sure you know exactly where there game is at. A lot of conversations with Ralph [Krueger], a lot of conversations with Terry and Kim [Pegula] and what are we looking to do and why, analyzing different thoughts."

Well thank God you went over this with Kim before you pulled the trigger. Her input is key here. LMAO!!

Don’t forget Terry.  Arguably an even less important opinion.

[LGR4GM]

19 minutes ago, dudacek said:

I've come around to the 'why' on this one from the Wild's perspective.

It's a simple hockey trade. Bill Guerin wanted to get younger and faster and better in transition and Mojo does that.

Unlike most of the internet,  Guerin thinks Mojo is a better player than Staal, or at least a better fit with what they are trying to do.

Something to think about.

But is he really? 

Quote

 

While Staal isn’t the fastest skater in the game, he’s still a decent transition center. Again, not to the level of Eichel, but he was one of the better players in Corey’s data in carry-in passing percentage.

 

https://www.expectedbuffalo.com/eric-staal-fills-the-two-year-void-at-center-for-the-buffalo-sabres-minnesota-wild-trade/

[Xzy89c]

YAAAAWN.  He was done a couple years ago....

[Weave]

31 minutes ago, dudacek said:

I've come around to the 'why' on this one from the Wild's perspective.

It's a simple hockey trade. Bill Guerin wanted to get younger and faster and better in transition and Mojo does that.

Unlike most of the internet,  Guerin thinks Mojo is a better player than Staal, or at least a better fit with what they are trying to do.

Something to think about.

Definitely a hockey trade. I think Marcus was under appreciated around here.  To my eye he was excellent at carrying the puck into the O zone.  I thought his game dropped  off after he got hurt though.

I see this as a natural C and leader with grit coming in, exchanged for a utility player with better wheels and a good two way game.  Marcus is more versatile and Eric better at his specialty.

 

[nfreeman]

29 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

It's what you always worry about. What does the other GM know you don't know? Staal was overheard saying he wants to backpack through Europe. Marcus hated Fargo.

The key to the trade: what is Staal's character. I imagine it was a key part of the Sabres research. For now I'll assume he has gas left in the tank, wants to burn the needle below E, likes the idea of playing in Buffalo, accepts the challenge of digging us out of hopelessness, etc. (I assume because I don't see how the Sabres make the trade without confirming those things.)

What?  Unacceptable.  Great movie AND a great show, although season 3 was a step down from seasons 1 and 2.

[In The Buff]

2 hours ago, New Scotland (NS) said:

Hasek was not the Dominator when he was aquired.  It was a marginal goalie for an equally marginal goalie.

No one knew who he would become.  That scum bucket did fix the team, but no one had any inclination that he would when the trade was made.  Muckler didn't even trust him to play in place of a broken down Fuhr.

@Taro T's post put it pretty well. But even if we were to say he was a nobody prior to the trade, the resulting impact that trade had on our franchise was huge. I don't think it even matters if he was a superstar or not when the deal was made. The post was: 'there wasnt 1 trade that fixed the franchise' and my point was: what ended up happening with Hasek did... That's all i was saying. The Briere deal in 2003, or the Hawerchuk, Lafontaine deals get honorable mentions as well for changing the team as well, but none as much as that Hasek deal imo.

Anyways Staal is a solid 1st step to addressing our needs. Now lets see Adams' next move

[Trettioåtta]

4 hours ago, matter2003 said:

It's a 1 year deal.

Yea and I don’t want to throw away another year and probably Jack playing for the Sabres because the 2C we thought we fixed wasnt

[Broken Ankles]

47 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

What?  Unacceptable.  Great movie AND a great show, although season 3 was a step down from seasons 1 and 2.

Agree.  AND, Fargo gave us this for Victor.

[LGR4GM]

We should make more trades with Minnesota... this is a bizarre statement to make. 

 

[Taro T]

48 minutes ago, Weave said:

Definitely a hockey trade. I think Marcus was under appreciated around here.  To my eye he was excellent at carrying the puck into the O zone.  I thought his game dropped  off after he got hurt though.

I see this as a natural C and leader with grit coming in, exchanged for a utility player with better wheels and a good two way game.  Marcus is more versatile and Eric better at his specialty.

 

Johansson was/is a good hockey player, but he's been injury prone recently, and as you mentioned his play dropped off greatly in the middle of the season after the injury.

This is a good trade.  It gives the Sabres a 2C while opening up a hole on the 3rd line.  And because none of the recognized tradable pieces went out in this deal & the cap hit went down, they still have the ability to fill holes in the lineup (possibly even bringing in another younger 2C to really have C depth which we haven't had since Black Sunday).