By Larry Wigge
Jordan Staal turned down a 10-year, $60 million contract Thursday. One day later, the 23-year-old was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Something happened in the meantime ...
Staal maintained that after next season he would join brother Erik in Carolina and the Pittsburgh Penguins would get nothing. That forced a Penguins trade.
"For many years, the family said the brothers want to play together," Carolina GM Jim Rutherford said. I don't know why he'd go somewhere else."
While the Pittsburgh Penguins were hosting the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Staal was at his wedding reception in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The trade ended Staal six-year career in which he won one Stanley Cup the Penguins.
Both ceremonies were featured at Thunder Bay.
In the deal, the Penguins traded Staal to Carolina for center Brandon Sutter, defensive prospect Brian Dumoulin and the eighth overall pick, which they used to select defenseman Derrick Pouliot.
Staal, 24, finished his career with 25 goals and 25 assists in 62 games. However, he showed the rest of the league that he could be a No. 1 or No. 2 center elsewhere when he scored six goals in six playoff games.
Sutter, 23, scored a career-high 21 goals during the 2009-10 season. Dumoulin, 20, was Carolina's second-round draft choice in 2009 and had seven goals and 21 assists in 44 games at Boston College this season.
Rutherford initiated talks with Penguins' counterpart Ray Shero on two occasions during the past two months before Shero finally agreed to negotiate.
"I made Ray aware of our interest when their season ended," Rutherford said.
Shero's season-ending news conference April 24 was notable because he said he "wasn't sure" if he would be able to keep centers Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Staal together for the long term.
That's when Staal's desire to play in Carolina went public. Less than 24 hours later, Rutherford called Shero.
"I talked with him at 4:20," Rutherford said. "We made that deal at a quarter to seven."
Getting Sutter as part of the deal was a must.
"It just seemed like the right thing to do," Shero said. "Jimmy Rutherford was very persistent. Brandon had to be part of the deal."
* * *
Nail Yakupov, No. 1 pick overall, and Alex Galchenyuk, the third pick, are the fourth set of teammates to be selected among the top three picks in an NHL Draft from the same team -- the Sarnia Sting.
Year Junior Teammates Club Selected By
1999 Daniel Sedin (2nd) and Henrik Sedin (3rd) MoDo (Sweden) Vancouver
1974 Wilf Paiement (2nd) and Rick Hampton (3rd) St. Catharines (OHA) K.C. and California
1969 Rejean Houle (1st) and Marc Tardif (2nd) Mtl. Jr. Canadiens (QHL) Montreal
* * *
Many compare this year's draft with 2008 draft.
Behind Steven Stamkos, Drew Doughty was picked by Los Angeles, Zach Bogosian was picked by Atlanta, Alex Pietrangelo by St. Louis and Toronto selected defenseman Luke Schenn.
In all 11 defenseman were picked in the first round.
Tyler Myers was picked by Buffalo, Colten Tseubert by Anaheim, Ottawa's Erik Karlsson (the winner the the Norris Trophy), Jake Gardniner by Minnesota, Philadelphia's took Luca Sbisa, Micheal Del Zotto was picked by the New York Rangers and John Carlson by the Washington Capitals.
In the 2012 draft, a record 13 defenseman were taken.
2 Ryan Murray Everett (WHL) Columbus
4 Griffin Reinhart Edmonton (WHL) NY Islanders
5 Morgan Rielly Moose Jaw (WHL) Toronto
6 Hampus Lindholm Rogle Jr. (Sweden) Anaheim
7 Mathew Dumba Red Deer (WHL) Minnesota
8 Derrick Pouliot Portland (WHL) Pittsburgh
9 Jacob Trouba USA U-18 Winnipeg
10 Slater Koekkoek Peterborough (OHL) Tampa Bay
15 Cody Ceci Ottawa (OHL) Ottawa
22 Olli Maatta London (OHL) Pittsburgh
23 Michael Matheson Dubuque (USHL) Florida
25 Jordan Schmaltz Green Bay (USHL) St. Louis
28 Brady Skjei USA U-18 (USHL) NY Rangers
* * *
Six trades were announce during the first day of the draft.
Philadelphia traded G Sergei Bobrovsky to Columbus for a 2nd-round pick in the 2012 NHL
Draft (45th overall), a 4th-round pick in 2012 (117th overall) and a 4th-round pick in 2013.
Anaheim traded D Lubomir Visnovsky to the New York Islanders for a 2nd-round pick in the
2013 NHL Draft.
Washington traded C Cody Eakin and a 2nd-round pick in the 2012 NHL Draft (54th overall) to
Dallas for C Mike Ribeiro.
Pittsburgh traded C Jordan Staal to Carolina for a 1st-round pick in the 2012 NHL Draft (eighth
overall), C Brandon Sutter and D Brian Dumoulin.
Calgary traded a 1st-round pick in the 2012 NHL Draft (14th overall) to Buffalo for a 1st-round pick in 2012 (21st overall) and a 2nd-round pick in 2012 (42nd overall).
* * *
Boston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas could be on the move, as GM Peter Chiarelli told reporters on Friday that he has waived his no-trade clause 10 days ago.
Chiarelli and Thomas confirmed last month that the Stanley Cup-winning netminder was not playing in 2012-13.
Thomas has one year left on his current deal, which carries a $5 million cap hit for the 2012-13 season. The no-movement clause that is a part of the deal expires July 1.
The 38-year-old went 35-19-1 with a 2.36 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage this past season. In the playoffs, he had a 2.14 GAA and a .923 save percentage. Boston lost in seven games to Washington in the first round.
Thomas won the 2009 and 2011 Vezina Trophy, and has a 196-121-45 record and 2.48 GAA in 378 career games with the Bruins. In 50 postseason games, he holds a 29-21 mark with a 2.07 GAA.
Thomas won the 2011 Conn Smythe Trophy after leading Boston to its first Stanley Cup title since 1972.
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