With the Wings’ need to add 11 players to their roster (with at least eight of them being pending restricted free agents), Red Wings’ GM Steve Yzerman made a move to add a fourth defenseman with any NHL experience, the same guy they got a 2nd rounder from the Rangers for taking off their hands last season:
Staal put up 10 points and 20 PIM with a -5 rating in 56 games for the Wings last year playing a healthy chunk of his minutes with Troy Stecher. Compared to expectations, I’d say he was better than many anticipated, but he definitely wasn’t worth the $5.