The biggest name available at this year’s trade deadline is Eric Stall, currently a member of the Carolina Hurricanes. One of three brothers’ currently in the NHL, Eric is a four-time all-star who had seven straight 70+point seasons at one point in his veteran career. At 31 years old, Staal still has some good years in front of him and could be a huge asset to any Stanley Cup contendingl team.
It is difficult to predict if the Hurricanes will actually trade Staal as they are currently in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt themselves. If they do decide to deal Staal, there will be no shortage of suitors eager to add him to their lineups. Staal currently has a no-trade clause in his expiring contract, but told NHL.com’s Dan Rosen he wouldn’t veto a trade if the hurricanes decided to send him elsewhere.
Not a lot of other big names are believed to be available at this years deadline, but some of the more notable players we could see on the move come Monday are Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard, Jet’s winger Andew Ladd, and Lightening former top 3 pick Jonathan Drouin. The current expectation is that there could be as many as 20 deals in the coming days.
It is always interesting to look at how big name additions affect game attendance and ticket prices. Big name players bring even bigger prices, which is a trend we have seen often in the NHL. This past summer the Washington Capitals traded for TJ Oshie, one of the leagues hottest players who became a household name after his Sochi 2014 Olympic heroics. Washington Capitals tickets during the 2014/2015 season had an average price of $70.86. Since Oshie’s arrival this season, that price is up to $99.57 a ticket, a 29% increase over last year.
Currently NHL tickets are the second most expensive in U.S. pro sports leagues, behind the NFL. Canada has historically led the way with the Maple Leafs, Oilers, and Canucks consistently having the highest ticket prices in the league. The last two years have seen average ticket prices increase significantly throughout the league, with the Blackhawks, Penguins, and Rangers right behind the Canadian Trio. If a big name is moved come Monday, you can bet their new team will see a spike in tickets.
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