Staal signs with Wild AHL affiliate, eyes Olympic chance with Canada

Eric Staal signed a professional tryout contract with the Minnesota Wild's American Hockey League affiliate in Iowa on Thursday. The 37-year-old center wants to prepare for the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Staaal played in the NHL with Montreal Canadiens last season.

Staal signed a professional tryout contract with the Minnesota Wild's American Hockey League affiliate in Iowa. The 37-year-old center played 17 seasons in the NHL, including 311 games with Wild. Staal wants to play for Canada at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. He helped Canada win a gold medal at 2010 Vancouver Olympics and finish first at 2007 IIHF World Championship. NHL announced December 22 its players won't participate in 2022 Olympics due to the regular-season schedule being disrupted. As of Thursday, 104 games had been postponed. Staals had a goal and an assist in his Iowa debut, a 4-3 win against Chicago.