On Thursday, the Pittsburgh Penguins and center Jordan Staal agreed to a four-year, $16 million contract extension. The deal will run through the 2012-13 season, and keeps Staal from hitting the restricted free agent market this offseason.
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Staal's contract will pay him $3.5 million over the first two years of the deal, and $4.5 million over the final two years.
The question now becomes: is Staal worth it? As of right now, on January 8, 2009, I have to say no, no he is not. He's a very good defensive forward and has shown flashes of offensive ability in his first three years -- though, probably not as much as you would like from a No. 2 overall pick -- but a $4 million per year cap hit? For your No. 3 center? When you already have big money deals in place for Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Marc-Andre Fleury and Ryan Whitney?
I hope general manager Ray Shero knows what he's doing.
The 20-year old Staal is currently on pace for 42 points this season, which would match his career high from his rookie year.
