Canadiens acquire Eric Staal from the Buffalo Sabres

MONTREAL - Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin announced on Friday that the team has acquired Eric Staal from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for the club's third and fifth-round picks in the 2021 NHL Draft. The Sabres will retain $1.625 million of Staal's salary.

Staal, 36, suited up for 32 games with Buffalo this season, recording three goals and seven assists. In 17 seasons in the NHL with the Carolina Hurricanes, Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers and the Sabres, the 6'04'' and 195 lbs left-handed centreman amassed 1,031 points (439 goals, 592 assists) in 1,272 regular season games. A Stanley Cup champion with Carolina in 2006, Staal has 51 points, including 21 goals, in 62 playoff contests over the course of his NHL career.
Staal also shone on the international stage, helping Canada win gold at the World Hockey Championship in 2007, as well as silver in 2008. He was also an important part of the gold-medal winning team during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Staal was a first-round pick of the Hurricanes (2nd overall) in the 2003 NHL Draft.