Folks forget how Staal was partnered with Dan Boyle. This basically translates into Staal playing by himself on the backend.
Boyle was so bad, I'd rather have him caught up ice and a forward coming back to help out then Boyle actually attempting to make a defensive play.
But yeah, Staal's game has gone to the crapper since his partner changed from Stralman to Boyle. The guy's terrible.
Oh and at 5.7m he's way over paid because you know, guys like Niskanen, Mike Green, Orpik, Myers, Andy Greene, Martin, Methot, and Wideman all bring great value.
Throwing some over paid guys at the wall does not mean anything . Do we need to throw all the D out there that are on sweet deals to show Staal is overpaid ? No . It also does nothing . Staal at 5.7 million is not worth his contract there no argument . NYR are not that strong on D to been giving up a good D for a player who may bolt to the KHL . The reason you offer him is because it opens up valuable cap space . Addition by subtraction