Staal became a free agent after reaching the Stanley Cup finals with the Montreal Canadiens last season, he stated that he wanted to play for an American team. According to LeBrun on TSN's Insider Trading:
«He is not ready to retire. He is committed to playing another NHL season, but he doesn't have an NHL home. Now, probably ideally it would be where his family has lived the last few years in Minnesota but the Wild have not shown interest in bringing him back and I don't think that's going to happen. A return to Canada where he finished the season with the Montreal Canadiens, probably not in the cards right now either. The preference for Eric Staal is to find a good fit in the U.S. that's where his camp is working on now.
