Eric Staal is Still Waiting for a Contract Due to Florida's Cap Situation
Eric Staal joined the Florida Panthers on a professional tryout this summer, and by all accounts he earned himself a job. Yet, he is without a contract. What's up with that?
A handful of games in, Staal is still around the team, and both sides appear willing to advance their partnership. The hiccup is a simple yet unwavering one: the NHL's salary cap, against which Florida sits extremely tight.
Staal already boasts a Hall of Fame résumé but still has the itch to play and win. Too bad he is stuck waiting for Florida's cap situation to sort itself out in the meantime.
''Eric is skating with us as a non-roster guy,'' general manager Bill Zito said following Wednesday's morning skate in which Staal participated.
Zito also admitted that his hands were tied by the salary cap and roster space, but he made a point to assert that he is looking at any and everything to make room.
Florida does have some bad contracts they need to sort out, most notably Sergei Bobrovsky's $10 million and and Patric Hörnqvist's $5.3 million. Also anchoring their books is Keith Yandle's contract buyout, which is running the Panthers for over $5 million this season.
If GM Bill Zito is looking for help, I mean look no further. Try NOT paying Sergei Bobrovsky, Patric Hörnqvist, and Keith Yandle more than $20 million, and then see how your books feel. Problem solved, thank me later.
Top 10 latest hockey stories
