Let's ignore the fact Staal wanted to play in Minnesota and was willing to take a discount with them. Also feel like we need to throw up their numbers the couple years before the deal... I feel like the narrative was Staal was finished after that year split in Carolina and New York. Great hindsight in that one.
I don't think any of us saw the cliff coming as fast for Nielsen as it did. I think we thought these last two years would be bad, but it sucked right away. Hell you had Islanders fans coming here to tell us how good he was and how much we would like him when he signed.
No hindsight is necessary.
I advocated for Staal that summer precisely because he was undervalued after a rough season.
I've yet to see any real evidence that Staal would only play in Minnesota. Just fans who make excuses for ineptitude grasping at straws and repeating myths, over and over and over again.
But even if you couldn't sign Staal.
Signing Nielsen to a six year deal...
A 32-year-old to a six-year deal.
Indefensible.
Just another wasteful Holland contract.
Edit:
"They were a team that I kind of had on my radar for a little while now," Staal said. "Knowing I was going to be in this position, I was scouring over team rosters and looking for spots and opportunities where I could be put in a position to play my best kind of hockey. Minnesota was right up there."
Staal, whose contract carries an average annual value of $3.5 million, has a chance to help fill one of the Wild's biggest needs: depth at center. Captain
Mikko Koivu and
Erik Haula were the only sure things the Wild have.
So Staal wanted a place to prove himself.
You don't think he could have the opportunity to prove himself in Detroit? Which had just lost Datsyuk?
