Eric Staal is running out of options…

What’s next for the veteran forward?

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 2 years ago
Eric Staal is running out of options…
Twitter / NHL

Veteran forward Eric Staal is committed to playing another season in the National Hockey League, his 18th in career, however, he has yet to find a team interested in his services. 

That’s sad to say. After all, the 36-year-old is a Stanley Cup champion, with 1,034 points over 1,293 games while suiting up for five teams in the league. 

But time is running out… This is what Pierre LeBrun reported on his situation in last night’s edition of Insider Trading on TSN: 

“He is not ready to retire. He is committed to playing another NHL season but he doesn’t have an NHL home. Now probably ideally [it] would be where his family has lived the last few years in Minnesota but the Wild have not shown interest in bringing him back and I don’t think that’s going to happen. A return to Canada where he finished the season with the Montreal Canadiens, probably not in the cards right now either. The preference for Eric Staal is to find a good fit in the U.S., that’s where his camp is working on now. He is committed to trying to come back for another year.”

While Staal would prefer to find him a good fit in the United States, we have no clue which team in this smaller circle will look to give him a shot… His options are running with time ticking too… 

He just wrapped up a two-year contract with an average annual value of $3.25 million. Staal was traded to the Canadiens in late March and went on to record eight points over 21 playoff contests while averaging 11:31 of ice time per matchup during the team’s surprising run to the Stanley Cup Final.

He could get a PTO somewhere in the coming days to join a training camp, though it sure sounds like there is very little time left for Staal to get inked for an 18th season in the NHL… 

Source: TSN