NHL trade grade: Canadiens acquire Eric Staal from Sabres

The Montreal Canadiens have acquired Eric Staal from the Buffalo Sabres for two draft picks

NHL trade deadline frenzy is officially underway thanks to the Montreal Canadiens and the Buffalo Sabres. On Friday, the former acquired forward Eric Staal from the latter. In exchange, the Canadiens are sending a 2021 third-round pick and a 2021 fifth-round pick (both of them their own) to the Sabres. Additionally, Buffalo is retaining 50 percent of Staal’s cap hit.

Staal was acquired by the Sabres this offseason from the Minnesota Wild for fellow forward Marcus Johansson. He will be a free agent at the end of this season. The 36-year-old forward has three goals and seven points this season in Buffalo. Staal’s cap hit for Montreal will be $1.625 million according to CapFriendly.

What does Eric Staal add to the Canadiens?

Staal has quietly put together an impressive career. He has a Stanley Cup, which he won with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006. And had it not been for Cam Ward, Staal likely would have won the Conn Smythe Trophy that year as well. Though he’s struggled this season with the Sabres, pretty much everyone has.

Until this season, Staal was the kind of forward you could pencil in for 50 points a year. Though he had 47 points last season, it’s worth pointing out the 2019-20 season was cut short due to COVID-19. Considering the Wild were playing extremely well heading into the unexpected break, it’s not a stretch to say Staal would have most likely hit 50 points again.

Looking at his advanced metrics, according to Natural Stat Trick, his five-on-five individual shooting percentage is an abysmally low 4.5 percent. Even worse, the Sabres as a team converted on a measly 3.79 percent of their five-on-five shots on goal with Staal on the ice. One has to imagine some positive regression is heading Staal’s way.

Staal’s underlying statistics were strong, which suggests he’ll be a solid addition for the Canadiens. He’s comfortable playing both at center and on the wing, which should be a huge help for Montreal. Staal will most likely start on the fourth line, but he’s more than capable of playing higher in the lineup.

Canadiens Trade Grade: B

Staal’s a nice bounce-back candidate for Montreal. At the very least, he should be a positive influence on their young players, most notably Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Nick Suzuki.