The Detroit Red Wings made a splash today, adding defenseman Marc Staal and a 2021 second round pick for “future considerations” (aka basically nothing) from the New York Rangers.
Staal, 33, had one year left on a contract with a $5.7 million cap hit and hasn’t really been a viable NHL caliber defenseman for the better part of the last decade. Interestingly, the Wings aren’t just going to buy Staal out and eat a cap hit to avoid a bad player, apparently they’re in the business of using their salary cap space to acquire expensive and bad veterans, according to their general manager Steve Yzerman.