On the two Staals ...
Jordan - I've always felt that Jordan is a valuable type of player if and when he gets his butt in gear and starts playing his game. He's badly over paid, but you can hardly blame the player for that. What I can blame the player for is the fact that it ALWAYS takes him well into the Holiday season to get his engine going. What the heck is that all about? I think you keep Jordan for the long run because good checking centers are hard to find and his paycheck makes him all but impossible to trade anyway. But in keeping him I think you make at least a soft demand that he stick around in the off season to train locally where you can keep an eye on him. Both he and Eric seem to hibernate too much when they go home to "train."
Eric ... looks to me like a guy trying to play with some passion, but who has played like a zombie for so long that he's forgotten how to do anything other than go through the motions. That's why he's been engaging physically so much over the last month, at least in my opinion. I think the poor sod actually does want to stick it out in Raleigh ... bless his heart. But somebody somewhere in this club's management has to give the gimlet eye to E Staal's career path and make a move. I do think he would be (or at least could be) ignited by playing on a team with something meaningful at stake. But here? No.
Jordan - I've always felt that Jordan is a valuable type of player if and when he gets his butt in gear and starts playing his game. He's badly over paid, but you can hardly blame the player for that. What I can blame the player for is the fact that it ALWAYS takes him well into the Holiday season to get his engine going. What the heck is that all about? I think you keep Jordan for the long run because good checking centers are hard to find and his paycheck makes him all but impossible to trade anyway. But in keeping him I think you make at least a soft demand that he stick around in the off season to train locally where you can keep an eye on him. Both he and Eric seem to hibernate too much when they go home to "train."
Eric ... looks to me like a guy trying to play with some passion, but who has played like a zombie for so long that he's forgotten how to do anything other than go through the motions. That's why he's been engaging physically so much over the last month, at least in my opinion. I think the poor sod actually does want to stick it out in Raleigh ... bless his heart. But somebody somewhere in this club's management has to give the gimlet eye to E Staal's career path and make a move. I do think he would be (or at least could be) ignited by playing on a team with something meaningful at stake. But here? No.
