NHL Trade Rumors: Why the Toronto Maple Leafs Must Make a Deal for Eric Staal

The Toronto Maple Leafs need Eric Staal.

The Leafs have been the talk of recent trade rumors that would send the 29-year-old center in a package with the Carolina Hurricanes.

It's not just a move that would benefit Toronto, but it's one that almost seems necessary for a team looking to get back to the playoffs for just a second time in a decade.

Staal would represent a boost in scoring and legitimize the Maple Leafs' forward group. Last year, Toronto finished 12th in the Eastern Conference, nine points out of a playoff spot. However, the team was in contention until the last few weeks of the season, where it subsequently lost eight of its last 10.

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It's not hard to imagine having a superstar center like Staal may have reversed that fate. Scoring was an issue for the Leafs during the homestretch, as they averaged only two goals a game in their final 10. Toronto ranked 14th in scoring overall last year with 2.71 goals per game.

Staal is a proven goal scorer, notching 290 career goals and 690 points to date in his 11-year NHL career. He's had eight seasons with at least 20 goals and averages 73 points a campaign. 

Some would argue Staal is on the decline, coming off his worst season statistically with 61 points in 79 games. In fact, players of Staal's age typically seem to reduce their even-strength scoring output to 80 percent of their career average once they hit 31 years old. That age is creeping up on the veteran.

However, there is too much consistency backing Staal to consider him a victim of that statistic. His 61-point effort—his worst season—would have been second on the Leafs last year. One also must consider just two years prior he was on pace to score 90 points in the lockout-shortened regular season. Toronto hasn't had a 90-point season from a center in 17 years—Mats Sundin.

Slotting Staal with the speedy and exciting Phil Kessel, who finished sixth in the league with 80 points last year, would give the Leafs a potent first line with James van Riemsdyk. It also would further bolster a strong power play that finished fifth a season ago.

Toronto has the cap and the assets needed to take on Staal and his $8.25 million cap hit. A package for the 6'4" center would be huge. According to Darren Dreger of TSN, a deal would likely include a first-round pick, Jake Gardiner and either Tyler Bozak or Nazem Kadri. 

It's a price the Leafs could and should be willing to give up. Prospects are just that: prospects. They are unproven and may not pan out. It's hard to believe they would come close to the value that Staal could bring to the team now. 

Toronto has a history of making such moves in the past and having them work out. Former general manager Brian Burke made waves when he traded two first-round picks for Kessel in 2009. The move drew scrutiny at the time, but there's no doubting Kessel is a great player and the best the Leafs have to offer. 

Despite a no-movement clause, Staal reportedly would waive it to don the blue and white.

If the Hurricanes are willing to deal, Toronto should pull the trigger. It likely would spell hockey in May for the Maple Leafs. For a team that hasn't won a playoff series in a decade and has been Cupless since 1967, it's a move Toronto must make.