Friedman on Staal, Sekera, Ward, and Skinner

Elliotte Friedman was on Sportsnet 960 Monday morning.

On the Carolina Hurricanes and the future of Eric Staal:

“I had a chance to talk to Eric Staal on Friday. They played in Calgary obviously on Thursday night. They played Edmonton on Friday and I had a chance to talk to Eric that afternoon. Because obviously his future is the biggest question.

“Eric Staal said to me that he met with Ron Francis in the summer and talked about his future and they basically asked him, ‘Do you want to go?’ And he said, ‘No, I don’t. I want to stay. I want to be a member of the Hurricanes.’

“He’s been there all his life and I think he wants to be part of the solution. He said it was embarrassing we haven’t won yet but I believe that it’s too early to write off the season. He hopes to be back tomorrow night in Vancouver and he wants to see where things go.

“The one caveat he made Dean, is that the Hurricanes are for sale. Whether it’s all of it, or a part of it. He did say, if Mr. Karmanos – as he called him – sold the team and a new owner wanted to go in a different direction, he would see what that meant. But for the time being, he wants to be a member of this team and he wants to stay there.

“I think you’ll see a guy like Sekera will get traded. He’s an unrestricted free agent and I think he’s got some value. I think they’d love to trade Cam Ward, but I’m not sure you can make that work. But Eric Staal sure made it sound like he is not going anywhere in the short-term.”

Also:

“I do think they would move Skinner under the right circumstances, but I don’t think that’s an easy trade either.”

Source: Sportsnet 960/ Transcript: Nichols on Hockey

Nichols on Hockey

Nichols on Hockey

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