I'm starting to wonder if his 100 point season was a flash in the pan. Is this guy living off the hype from that one season? He's had one other season where he was a point per game player, but other then that he seems to have been on a decline since that 100 point season.
I thought he was great in the playoffs last year battling off the likes of Chara, and that this coming season was going to be another big one for him. It seems that isn't the case. Admittedly, I don't watch him play very often, so maybe I'm not getting the whole story, but why isn't he getting results like he used to?
The 100 point season came the year after the lockout where everyone's numbers were up. He's been rather consistent the past three seasons. I don't see how he is overrated. He's around a ppg player and easily a number one center.
He's not the huge breakaway star that everybody thought he was going to be after the 05/06 season but he's still a franchise player and a slow start in the first 6 games of the season doesn't change that.
you obviously didn't watch much of Staal in the playoffs last season, he was a dominant force against New Jersey & Boston (only checked by Chara). A 5 game slow start doesn't mean he has not proven he can be the best player on ice in tough games.
He's a second half player. I am convinced the first 41 games bore him.
05-06 playoffs 25GP 9G 28Pts
07-08 last 20 games 9G 30Pts
08-09 last 53 games 31G 56Pts including 10 goals in playoffs.
Put it this way, the guy has won and he still shows up every game. Great talent and still quite young! I'd take him on the Senators any day of the week.
He's a second half player. I am convinced the first 41 games bore him.
05-06 playoffs 25GP 9G 28Pts
07-08 last 20 games 9G 30Pts
08-09 last 53 games 31G 56Pts including 10 goals in playoffs.
He's bored with no pressure, it's what I believe.
Don't know what it is, but he has a history of starting seasons very slowly. I would not be too worried about it. He's great in fantasy leagues for making late runs.
He's not overrated in the least, he's a legitimate #1 center. I think people talk about the top 5-6 centers in the league so much it's like you score 90 points or people think you're kind of average. It's not so polarizing.
Not overrated, just overpaid. Although i respect the philosophy of paying ur franchise players because they bring other things to the table(Staal, Ward).
Per John Forslund (the Canes' TV play-by-play guy) on the radio post-game Wednesday night, Eric Staal is gritting through some injury right now and is not playing at 100%.
But a few Canes fans called in to the post-game show saying that he is overrated and overpaid. A little overreaction there, but he hasn't had the best start to the season.
Staal never starts the season hot (exception being 05/06). But he's hardly overrated. He's probably overpaid by about a million per year but he and Ward are also the face of the franchise. There are only two players on the Canes roster that have the ability to absolutely take over a game at any time: Staal and Ward.
lol To those who are freaking out at me asking the question. I think it's legitimate with how highly he was talked about a few years back. There's no doubt he's a very good player, but is he this franchise forward that should be talked about with the Datsyuks, Malkins, Crosbys, Ovechkins and Thorntons of the league that can carry a team on their backs?
lol To those who are freaking out at me asking the question. I think it's legitimate with how highly he was talked about a few years back. There's no doubt he's a very good player, but is he this franchise forward that should be talked about with the Datsyuks, Malkins, Crosbys, Ovechkins and Thorntons of the league that can carry a team on their backs?
While Staal will likely have trouble reaching the offensive numbers he did in 05/06 (a combination of things helped accomplish that: lockout, flying under the radar, etc), his defensive game has greatly improved since that year.
He's not going to be on the same level as Crosby/Malkin/OV (Though I haven't seen anyone make that claim), but he's in that 2nd tier with just about every other star in the league. And yes, he's had that ability to take over and win games for quite a while now.
There's no doubt he's a very good player, but is he this franchise forward that should be talked about with the Datsyuks, Malkins, Crosbys, Ovechkins and Thorntons of the league that can carry a team on their backs?
These threads.
