The past year or two I have found myself very surprised to see the level of disappointment and sarcasm levelled at Jordan Staal on the various websites such as TIOPS about Jordan Staal. Some very intelligent and committed Penguins fans have expressed a feeling that the Penguins should trade Staal, and that he is not worth the 4M cap hit to the Penguins franchise. The main logic espoused most of the time is that he was the 2nd overall pick in the 2006 draft, and the Penguins could have drafted Jonathan Toews, Phil Kessel, or Nicklas Backstrom, all of whom are more offensively productive than Staal. What about the 21 teams who passed on Claude Giroux, taken 22nd by the Flyers if you are going to use that argument. He may be the best of the bunch before all is said and done, and 21 others were taken before him. Anyway, back to the argument Yinzer land is using. Toews is a great player, Stanley Cup Champion, and captain. No argument in my mind that he is a better overall player, BUT, he would not fit on the TEAM over the long run due to cap issues, and role issues. Shero and company have done a good job of building a championship caliber team, and a big shutdown center with offensive upside, and a threat on the penalty kill is exactly the right fit to complement the two headed monster in place in Pittsburgh. Backstrom, though he puts up big numbers during the regular season disappears in the post season, and is softer than a baby's ass. Kessel is offensively gifted, but pays no attention to the defensive zone, and has a reputation as somewhat of a issue in the attitude department. I don't think Kessel fits the overall model of what Shero and Bylsma think of as "Pittsburgh Penguins." It is not like Staal is chopped liver either. Let's consider some of the positives that 11 has brought to the dance, other than the fact that the Penguins have been to two finals, won a Cup, and probably would have made a very deep run last year as well, had they not lost more production to injury than some teams have in total on their team. More specifically, let's look at some of Staal's accomplishments since he hit the NHL, and yes, he did so at the ripe OLD age of 18. First, let's take a look back at his final season in juniors, where he scored 28 goals, and 68 points in 68 games for a point per game average during the season, before adding 16 more points on the way to leading the Peterborough Petes to an OHL Championship. Those numbers are not the numbers of a player without offensive skills. The Penguins then take Staal with the 2nd pick overall in the 2006 draft, and he makes the team out of camp to everyone's surprise. All he did that year was score 29 goals, and 42 points to end the season as a Calder Trophy Finalist for NHL Rookie of the Year. The award was ultimately won by teammate Evgeni Malkin, with Staal finishing 3rd behind Malkin and Peter Stastny. Some other accomplishments for the year included becoming the youngest player to score two goals in a game since 1943, the youngest player to score on a penalty shot, the most short handed goals by a rookie (7), and the youngest player ever to record a hat trick! The following year, Staal's production fell to 12 goals, and 28 points in the regular season. He was however a factor in the post season run to the Finals by adding 6 goals, and an assist. In the 2008-09 season, Staal contributed 22 goals and 49 points, and added 4 more goals and 9 points in the run to the Cup. Those playoff numbers are not huge numbers, but added to Staal's penalty killing and defensive prowess, it was a nice dose of secondary scoring. The goals Staal scored in that run were big goals. Staal's game tying short handed goal in Game 4 of the SCF could not have been bigger! The Wings had just taken the lead, and looked like they were ready to put the Penguins away like they had the year before. The Penguins took a penalty, and you could feel Detroit taking control of the game, and thus the series. Then Staal brought the house down with a dynamic short handed goal to tie the game, and take back the momentum, and the rest was history. He added a goal in the crucial Game 6 victory to help force the dramtic game 7, and ultimately the Penguins went on to win their 3rd Cup. The following season, Staal added 21 goals and 49 points again, during the regular season, but the Penguins were eliminated by the Montreal Canadiens in round two of the playoffs. A series in which Staal had a tendon in his foot severed by the skate of PK Scissorskates, then after it was surgically repaired, he missed a total of three games before returning to action. Is that not the embodiment of toughness this town tends to love? After a series of surgeries, Staal missed the first half of last year, before posting 11 goals, and 30 points in 42 games, a 60 point, 22 goal pace over a full season. In addition, he took his usual role on the penalty kill, a unit which finished first in the NHL last year. After ten games this year, Staal is tied for second in scoring on the Penguins behind the red hot James Neal with 8 points, including 5 goals. Again, the Penguins penalty kill is number one in the NHL, allowing one power play goal in 10 games going 32 for 33 in that span. Staal is second amongst forwards in PK time, at nearly 3 minutes per game. He also has contributed a short handed goal, another category the Penguins currently lead the league in, with 2 SHG. At the tender age of 23, this 6 foot 4 inch 220 pound center has already played in 379 regular season NHL games recording 100 goals and 206 points, while developing into one of the premier defensive players in the league as noted by his nomination as a SELKE TROPHY FINALIST for his play in the 2010 season. He has played in 67 playoff games, been to two finals, won the Stanley Cup, and played a vital role defensively in both runs, while adding some big goals in the 2009 Finals. Though some question his toughness, he has had an incredible iron man streak in a very physical league, playing a total of 358 STRAIGHT games, during which played through a broken nose, severe lacerations, and other assorted hockey bruises and cuts. Then he has his tendon severed in the 2010 playoffs, has it surgically repaired and winds up missing a total of three games with a TENDON in his foot SEVERED! Does it get tougher than that? To me, this kid embodies what it means to be a Pittsburgh Penguin. The Jordan Staal we have seen this season is showing signs of becoming the dominating force in ALL three zones that many hoped he would. The Staal who played the last two games especially is a strong 2nd line center on most teams in the NHL. To underscore Staal's versatility consider that he has a power play goal, a short handed goal and three short handed points, while tied for second in overall scoring on the Penguins on top of his role as the shutdown center. If that kind of offensive play continues, and the two headed monster ever gets healthy, you will see how the match up issues down the middle created by the emergence of Staal will make the Penguins a favorite to recapture Lord Stanley's holy grail. There will not be a single team in the NHL who could match up down the middle with that trio should Staal emerge as a consistent offensive threat in addition to being a shutdown center. So Rob Rossi may be the President of the Staalpologist group, but I will gladly claim the title of Vice President.
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