3 Teams Most Likely To Trade For Eric Staal

**UPDATE**
Carolina has traded Eric Staal to the Rangers for Aleksi Saarela, two 2nd-round draft picks.

Original Story:
The Carolina Hurricanes are expected to deal veteran forward Eric Staal before tomorrow's deadline as he'll be a free agent after the season, and several contenders have shown interest in acquiring him. Staal does have a no-trade clause in his contract, but he is expected to waive it to join a team that has a chance to win the Stanley Cup this season. Here are three teams that are most likely to trade for him:

New York Rangers
This is the most likely landing spot for Staal. According to the Fourth Period, the New York Rangers are targeting Staal and are offering a package centered around winger Chris Kreider, who Carolina has a lot of interest in. One of Staal's younger brothers, Marc, currently plays for the Rangers, so he could be very likely to waive his no-trade clause - especially for a team that's as good of a contender as New York.

Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa is looking to get back to the Stanley Cup Finals this year, but they still trail the Capitals, Panthers, and Rangers in the standings. They've emerged as a dark horse to land Staal since Carolina has interest in disgruntled Lightning forward Jonathan Drouin, and the two could work out a deal centered around both pieces. The Hurricanes would have to take on some of Staal's massive cap it to make this deal work, but it offers perhaps the best return for the captain.

Dallas Stars
Dallas is looking to make a move to help them keep up with the Blackhawks in the Western Conference, and Chicago just made a deal to acquire Andrew Ladd from the Winnipeg Jets. The Stars have the cap space to take on his contract, but Staal wouldn't be anything more than a glorified role player playing behind Tyler Seguin and Jason Spezza. Dallas needs that kind of depth, but it remains to be seen if Staal would accept that kind of role.