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Could we see trades at the NHL All-Star Game Fantasy Draft?

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Let’s face it, the new format for this year’s All-Star Game is fascinating.

Most fans have participated in a fantasy draft of some kind before. Whether it’s in hockey, football, or baseball so we know what it’s like when you’re looking at a pool of endless talent and trying to decide on the best of the best. This time around, Eric Staal and Nick Lidstrom will be the guys looking at doing that for Sunday’s All-Star Game.

With discussion picking up about who wants to take which players, the discussion of how to get one over on each other is picking up as well. The one guy Eric Staal is hoping to land the most is teammate Cam Ward and today he said he’s willing to do what it takes to try and get his teammate goalie on his team.

When told of Nicklas Lidstrom’s possible plan to pick Ward in order to divide the home crowd’s allegiances -- something Lidstrom talked about during a conference call Monday -- Staal said he might have to “figure something out as far as making a trade.” He told Bill Clement and Don LaGreca on NHL Live! he might have to bribe Lidstrom by offering to buy him dinner.

However, when asked if Ward will be his first pick if he wins the pre-draft coin flip, Staal was wishy-washy.

Hey, he doesn’t want to let the cat out of the bag early.

“There are plenty of other options out there,” Staal said. “You never know.”


Ahh the careful dance of trying to do what’s best for your team and keep your teammates with you. It’s one of the things that NBC play-by-play man Doc Emrick alluded to in his interview with PHT when talking about this year’s game and this is the brand of fun drama that it will provide.

We’re hoping for trades galore at this draft. We want to see players doing their part to negotiate to get friends and teammates on their side for the game. Have Lidstrom and Staal trade off dinner plans for Corey Perry. Think of the fun we can get here. If Team Staal does take Cam Ward first, how soon does Team Lidstrom with Martin St.Louis as his assistant captain then take Steve Stamkos? 0.4 seconds after that? The possibilities are endless and that’s not even taking into account the Sedin twins and whether or not they’ll end up teammates again or opponents for the first time in their pro careers. Like it or not, it’s generating buzz and has us all keeping an eye on things to see if it pays off in the end.