Eric Staal Acquired By Buffalo Sabres For Marcus Johansson From Minnesota Wild
As Buffalo Sabres general manager, Kevyn Adams didn’t need to put many efforts on center Eric Staal in completing his first trade. This is the first time after firing Jason Botterill in June, Kevyn has been hired from within the Sabres’ parent organization, Pegula Sports and Entertainment.
Kevyn, also a former NHL player had intuition on the 17-year going back to their days as teammates with the 2006 Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes.
On Wednesday, after acquiring Staal in a trade, Kevyn said, “Eric Staal has had a world-class career.”
“There are very few players in the league that just from what they’ve done on and off the ice command the respect and have the presence that an Eric Staal does,” he added. “I’ve seen that up close and personal. We added a phenomenal player and person that I’m very excited about.”
Adams mentioned the needs at center and leadership while taking over a team amid a nine-year playoff. Both the players are in the final year of the contract. On the other hand, Sabres is saving $1.25 million in space under the salary cap. However, Sabres takes Eric, who is six years older than Johansson.
“We’re getting a little bit younger. It’s a different look for our team,” Wild GM Bill Guerin said of a team that was eliminated by Vancouver in the preliminary round of the NHL’s playoff.
“We got to mix things up. We need to find a different pathway to success,” Guerin added. “We’re trying to create a far better team, and sometimes you have to take some drastic measures.”
Eric is one of the most active players with 436 goals eighth with 1,021 points. Eric also won a gold medal in Olympic 2010 and another gold medal in world championship 2017.
