As training camp began in full for the Carolina Hurricanes Friday, there were new faces galore. The offseason acquisition of goalie Scott Darling, defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk and forwards Justin Williams, Marcus Kruger and Josh Jooris has the Canes optimistic that, spearheaded by their young core, they can end their eight-year playoff drought.
In addition to the aforementioned new additions and young guns, there are a handful of tenured veterans that will need to play a key role in Carolina taking another step forward this year. Chief among them is forward Jordan Staal, heading into his sixth season in Raleigh. Staal, one of few players on the team with legitimate postseason experience, won a Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh in 200 9, and got plenty of playoff reps in with the Penguins. One thing he has yet to do is see the playoffs as a Hurricane. He’s ready to change that, and show his young teammates what getting over that hump is about.
“You just try and show them by example,” Staal said. “That’s essentially coming to work every day and making sure that you’re ready every game. It’s a team that’s most consistent that ends up in the playoffs. A team that’s ready to play every time and not giving away points so it’s something that I try to do to help lead this team.”
For Staal, coming to work every day and doing his job means bringing a little bit of everything to the table. He’s a solid scorer, chipping in 16 goals and 45 points in 75 games to put him tied for fourth on last year’s Canes leaderboard.
What Staal really does well, however, comes on the other side of the puck. This is a Canes team that thrives on defense and puck possession, and Staal is excellent at both facets. He ranked sixth in the league among centers to play at least 50 games last season with a 59.1 faceoff win percentage, and many of his shifts involved the Canes starting with the puck.
“For myself, I just want to be a good, hard-working guy that plays both sides of the puck hard and try to chip in offensively when I can,” Staal said. “I kind of just do the little things to help the team win.”
That defensive prowess involves lining up against the opposition’s best players. In the Metropolitan division, Staal faced down many of the league’s best, seeing a healthy diet of the Sidney Crosbys, Evgeni Malkins, Alex Ovechkins and John Tavares’ of the world. Many a night, especially at home when the Canes had the advantage of last change, the result of such a matchup was a goose egg on the scoreboard for those elite point producers.
“It’s a big challenge every night,” Staal said. “It’s something I do take pride in and it just makes you be ready and aware every game to bring your best.”
Canes head coach Bill Peters is a bench boss who has always preached defensive accountability and puck possession as two of the most important facets in hockey. For a coach with those philosophies, who better to lead his forward corps than Staal?
“I thought he had a real good year [last year],” Peters said. “I thought he was dominant at times. It starts in the circle with faceoffs and puck possession. He’s very good on our penalty kill. … [Staal] does it all. I think offensively, we’re going to score more as a team, so I think you’ll see everybody’s numbers improved. I think he’ll be one of those guys that we’re talking about at the end of the year that has improved numbers offensively.”
The past year and change has not been as smooth for Staal off the ice, however. He first came to the Canes and signed long term for the opportunity to play with his older brother, former captain Eric Staal. However, the results of uniting the two were not what the Canes had hoped for, as the team failed to make the playoffs with two Staals on the roster. Eric was traded at the 2016 trade deadline, ending that pairing for the foreseeable future.
The loss of his brother was, understandably, not an easy thing for Jordan to deal with. However, with a year under his belt, he’s been able to put that transition behind him and is ready to create new memories for this team involving the name Staal.
“I think obviously time always is supposed to heal all,” Jordan Staal said. “It’s been different, obviously, without him, but at the same time, it’s been awhile now. It’s definitely a lot of new guys, a lot of new faces in the room, so it’s starting to turn over where it definitely doesn’t feel like he’s been here just yesterday.”
From the perspective of many, a successful season for this Hurricanes team would be ending the NHL’s longest active playoff drought and getting its young stars’ feet wet in the postseason. Staal, however, has his sights set just a little higher.
“The Stanley Cup is a successful season no matter what,” Staal said. “Obviously every team going into the start of the season is aiming for that. That’s what we’re going to aim for. You obviously have to get to the playoffs to get there. That’s going to be our first goal and it’s going to be a day-to-day thing that’s going to help us get there.”
Whether or not the Canes are ready to reach the ultimate glory this season, the team is certainly set up well to contend for a long time. A do-it-all pivot who brings leadership and a desire to win will be a vital piece to any future Hurricanes championship puzzle.
