Eric Staal

Eric Staal
Born (1984-10-29) October 29, 1984
Thunder Bay, ON, CAN
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams
New York Rangers
Carolina Hurricanes
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 2nd overall, 2003
Carolina Hurricanes
Playing career 2003present

Eric Craig Staal (born October 29, 1984) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player playing for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Eric is the oldest of the Staal brothers, which include current teammate Marc Staal and former teammates Jordan Staal and Jared Staal. Eric Staal is a member of the Triple Gold Club, having won the Stanley Cup with the Hurricanes in 2006, and both the 2007 World Championships and the 2010 Winter Olympics with Team Canada.

Early life

Staal was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario, the son of sod farmers Henry and Linda Staal. He started playing hockey at the age of four,[1] and along with learning how to operate farming tools he played in a home ice rink with his three younger brothers.[2] His idols growing up were forwards Joe Sakic and Wayne Gretzky.[3] Eric took his jersey number 12 from what his father wore when he played hockey for the Lakehead Thunderwolves from 1978 to 1983.[3][4]

Playing career

Staal grew up playing minor hockey in Thunder Bay, and played AAA for the Thunder Bay Kings organization and led his Bantam team to an All-Ontario Championship in the 1999–2000 season. After the season, Staal was selected in the first round, 13th overall, in the 2000 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Priority Selection by the Peterborough Petes. While not even Staal's father thought Eric was fit for the OHL, he finished his first season with 49 points in 63 games. In his sophomore season, Staal upped his total to 62, and in 2002–03, his last season before the NHL Entry Draft, he scored a career-best 98 points in 66 games.[2]

Staal was selected second overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes, behind number one pick Marc-André Fleury. He played his first season in the NHL right after being drafted. In 2004, Staal played in the YoungStars Game as part of the 2004 NHL All-Star festivities.

As the 2004–05 season was cancelled due to a lock-out, Staal spent the year with the Hurricanes' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Lowell Lock Monsters. He established new franchise records in points (77), assists (51), plus-minus (+37) and shorthanded goals (7) in a season, and was also called for the AHL All Star Classic.[3]

Staal in warm-ups for the Hurricanes in 2013.

In the 2005–06 season, Staal scored a career-high 100 points during the regular season, and was named NHL Offensive Player of the Week of October 23–30, 2005, the same week in which he scored his first career hat-trick, coming against the Philadelphia Flyers. He then led the Hurricanes in points during the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs with 28 as they won the Stanley Cup. After the season, Staal finished fourth in voting for the Hart Memorial Trophy, awarded to the NHL's most valuable player (MVP). Following the successful season, on July 1, 2006, Staal signed a three-year, $13.5 million contract extension with the Hurricanes.[5]

Staal made his first All-Star Game appearance in 2007 All-Star Game in Dallas, where he scored the Eastern Conference's third goal. On January 27, 2008, at the 2008 NHL All-Star Game in Atlanta, Staal recorded two goals and an assist. He was also awarded the MVP award for the event.

On September 11, 2008, Staal signed a seven-year, $57.75 million extension with the Hurricanes, which was to begin in the 2009–10 season. Staal was slated to become a restricted free agent on July 1, 2009, but signed despite having one year at $5 million remaining on his former contract.[6]

On April 28, 2009, Staal capped an improbable comeback by scoring the series-winning goal with 31.7 seconds remaining in the Game 7 of Carolina's first round series of the 2009 playoffs against the New Jersey Devils.[1] The Hurricanes went as far as the Eastern Conference Finals, ultimately losing to the eventually Stanley Cup champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

On May 8, 2009, Staal scored twice to earn 40 career post-season points, eclipsing Ron Francis' franchise mark of 39.

On January 20, 2010, Staal was named team captain, replacing Rod Brind'Amour, who was named an alternate captain. Staal became the fifth captain since the team relocated to the city of Raleigh, North Carolina, from Hartford.[7]

On January 18, 2011, Staal was named one of two team captains for 2011 NHL All-Star Game, held in the Hurricanes' home city of Raleigh. In the Game, Team Staal fell 10–11 to Team Lidstrom, captained by the Detroit Red Wings' Nicklas Lidström.

Staal is one of the most durable players in the NHL, having played in 690 of Carolina's 704 regular-season games (98%) since the beginning of his rookie year of 2003–04, and with just 14 games missed in nine seasons – 12 due to injury and two due to attending his sister-in-law's funeral.[8][9]

On February 28, 2016, Staal was traded to the New York Rangers from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Aleksi Saarela and two second-round draft picks (2016 and 2017).[10][11][12]

International play

Medal record
Representing Canada Canada
Men's ice hockey
Olympic Winter Games
2010 Vancouver
World Championships
2007 Moscow
2008 Halifax / Quebec City

Staal received his first calls to Team Canada for the 2007 World Championships in Moscow. Along with younger brother Jordan, he won gold in a 4–2 win against Finland,[13] scoring five goals, including the overtime winner in the quarter-finals over the Czech Republic.[14] In the following year, Staal was back with Team Canada at the 2008 World Championships in Quebec City, winning a silver medal.[13] He scored eight goals in the tournament, four of them in Canada's 10–1 defeat of Germany.[15]

Four years after being named only for Canada's taxi squad for the 2006 Winter Olympics, Staal was selected for the Canadian team at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.[16] He became a starter alongside Sidney Crosby and Jarome Iginla,[17] and scored one goal and five assists on the path to a gold medal. The Olympic title added with previous NHL and World Championship wins made Staal the 23rd player in the Triple Gold Club.[13]

Staal was named captain of Team Canada in the 2013 World Championships in Stockholm.[18] He would get injured in the first period of the quarter-finals, which Canada ended up losing to eventual champions Sweden, after a knee-on-knee hit by defenceman Alexander Edler.[8]

Personal life

Staal married his longtime girlfriend Tanya Van den Broeke on August 3, 2007. Their first child, a son named Parker Lucas Staal, was born on September 22, 2009. Their second child, son Levi John Staal, was born December 11, 2011, in Raleigh. Their third child, son Finley Arthur Staal was born December 15, 2014. [19]

Records

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1999–00 Thunder Bay Kings Bantam AAA TBAHA 61 40 36 76 52
2000–01 Peterborough Petes OHL 63 19 30 49 23 7 2 5 7 4
2001–02 Peterborough Petes OHL 56 23 39 62 40 6 3 6 9 10
2002–03 Peterborough Petes OHL 66 39 59 98 36 7 5 9 14 6
2003–04 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 81 11 20 31 40
2004–05 Lowell Lock Monsters AHL 77 26 51 77 88 11 2 8 10 12
2005–06 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 82 45 55 100 81 25 9 19 28 8
2006–07 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 82 30 40 70 68
2007–08 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 82 38 44 82 50
2008–09 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 82 40 35 75 50 18 10 5 15 4
2009–10 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 70 29 41 70 68
2010–11 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 81 33 43 76 72
2011–12 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 82 24 46 70 48
2012–13 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 48 18 35 53 54
2013–14 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 79 21 40 61 74
2014–15 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 77 23 31 54 41
2015–16 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 63 10 23 33 32
2015–16 New York Rangers NHL 20 3 3 6 2 5 0 0 0 4
NHL totals 929 325 456 781 680 43 19 24 43 16

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2002 Canada WJC18 6th 8 2 5 7 4
2007 Canada WC 1st 9 5 5 10 6
2008 Canada WC 2nd 8 4 3 7 6
2010 Canada Oly 1st 7 1 5 6 6
2013 Canada WC 5th 8 0 3 3 4
Junior totals 8 2 5 7 4
Senior totals 32 10 16 26 22

Awards and honours

Award Year
CHL
OHL Top Prospect Award 2002–03
OHL Second All-Star Team 2002–03
Top Prospects Game 2003
CHL First All-Star Team 2002–03
AHL
Best Plus/Minus 2004–05
NHL
YoungStars Game 2003–04
Second All-Star Team 2005–06
Stanley Cup (Carolina Hurricanes) 2005–06
All-Star Game 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011
All-Star Game MVP 2008
International
World Championship Gold 2007
Olympic Gold 2010 [13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Eric Staal Q&A". The Hockey News. 2009-03-22. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  2. 1 2 "Linda and Henry Staal are raising a family of hockey stars". ESPN. 2009-04-16. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
  3. 1 2 3 "Eric Staal media biography" (PDF). Carolina Hurricanes. 2008-03-04. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
  4. "Where hockey players grow". The Globe and Mail. 2010-05-16. Retrieved 2010-05-16.
  5. "Hurricanes, Staal agree to contract extension". Carolina Hurricanes. 2006-07-01. Retrieved 2006-07-01.
  6. "Eric Staal agrees to seven year $57M deal with Hurricanes". The Hockey News. 2009-07-01. Retrieved 2010-05-06.
  7. "Eric Staal named captain of the Carolina Hurricanes". Carolina Hurricanes. 2010-01-20. Retrieved 2010-01-20.
  8. 1 2 3 "Eric Staal Diagnosed with Third-Degree MCL Sprain". Carolina Hurricanes. 2009-03-02. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  9. "Staal given leave of absence". Carolina Hurricanes. 2010-01-06. Retrieved 2010-01-06.
  10. "Rangers acquire Staal from Hurricanes". TSN. 2016-02-28. Retrieved 2016-02-28.
  11. "Canes Acquire Saarela, Picks for Eric Staal". Carolina Hurricanes. February 28, 2016. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
  12. "Rangers Acquire Eric Staal from Carolina". Blueshirts United. February 28, 2016. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "Triple Gold for Eric Staal". International Ice Hockey Federation. 2010-02-28. Archived from the original on June 9, 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
  14. "Staal's OT goal earns Canada spot in Quarters". ESPN. 2007-05-08. Retrieved 2007-05-08.
  15. "Staal, Canada crush Germany for fifth straight win at hockey worlds". ESPN. 2008-05-11. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
  16. "Staal excited for Olympics". Carolina Hurricanes. 2009-12-30. Retrieved 2009-12-30.
  17. "Staal's chance to make history". International Ice Hockey Federation. 2010-02-28. Archived from the original on March 3, 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
  18. "Team Canada roster announced for 2013 Worlds". The Sports Network. 2013-05-01. Retrieved 2013-05-01.
  19. NHL_Canes (2014-12-16). "Staal announces birth of third child". Twitter. Retrieved 2014-12-16.

External links

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