Eric Staal signs one-day contract with Carolina, officially retiring. Team to retire his number this season.

[Big Daddy Cane]

Eric Staal Signs One-Day Contract, Retires From NHL | Carolina Hurricanes

Hurricanes to retire Staal’s number 12 at to-be-determined date

www.nhl.com

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[banks]

His first few seasons he looked like he'd be one of the best players in the league for the duration of his career. He didn't quite live up to that, but he was a prototypical #1C for a long time. Makes sense for Carolina to retire his number.

 

[Mrfenn92]

 

[thegazelle]

A solid career for a guy who was a great ambassador of the game. Happy to hear he retired a Hurricane and the organization is retiring his number.

 

[123TripleDoge]

What a draft class that was. Loved his time on the Wild. That Canes run was fun to watch

 

[dalewood12]

Impressive career, although based on his rookie year, it could be argued he never truly lived up to his potential.

Arguably the greatest goal scorer of his generation who never hit 50 goals, but his consistency was impressive, with six 30+ goal seasons and three 40+ goal seasons.

 

[Chainshot]

Always felt the LBI he had after being on the cover of the EA release (was that '07 or '08?) robbed him of some of his separation speed and he wasn't ever quite to the level he was at pre-injury.

 

[Laus723]

Congrats to Staal on a long, successful career. Jersey to the rafters is well earned, enjoyed his being here in Florida. Every bit of it.

 

[AvroArrow]

Legend on and off the ice, well deserved.

 

[Melrose Munch]

congratulations!

 

[JaegerDice]

Great player, great career.

2nd best Staal brother.

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Always felt the LBI he had after being on the cover of the EA release (was that '07 or '08?) robbed him of some of his separation speed and he wasn't ever quite to the level he was at pre-injury.

NHL ‘08

 

[BHD]

Legend on and off the ice, well deserved.

Is he? He played 1200+ games and had a resurgence In Minnesota. However, isn't his legacy that he left something to be desired during those post-Cup years in Carolina?

 

[AvroArrow]

Is he? He played 1200+ games and had a resurgence In Minnesota. However, isn't his legacy that he left something to be desired during those post-Cup years in Carolina.

One of the rare members of the triple gold club

 

[JKG33]

Always liked Staal, I was quite young when he came into the league and he kind of reminded me of my favorite player at the time, Sundin. Big, goal scoring center.

It's a shame he fell off so hard but the resurgence in Minnesota was nice to see. Cheers to a helluva career

 

[BHD]

One of the rare members of the triple gold club.

He doesn't have any individual trophies.

 

[Sky04]

Impressive career, although based on his rookie year, it could be argued he never truly lived up to his potential.

Arguably the greatest goal scorer of his generation who never hit 50 goals, but his consistency was impressive, with six 30+ goal seasons and three 40+ goal seasons.

He had 31 points his rookie year.

 

[tarheelhockey]

One of the mini-dramas in Carolina this past decade was whether Staal warranted number retirement. This might be a step in that direction. He has an argument on paper but had seemed to fade from the organization since leaving, so presumably this is a sign of things getting warmer in retirement.

Edit: I didn’t see that his number retirement has been confirmed. So there ya go.

 

[CanadienShark]

Can't argue with his success. The guy really accomplished everything you could ask for, even if he seems somewhat disappointing in the sense that his early career peak didn't last long. Hell of a career and a legend for the team.

 

[Evergreen]

I have 3 thoughts:

1. Number retirement is clearly deserved.
[MOD]
3. Does anybody else think these one-day contracts are kind of silly?

 

[Nogatco Rd]

His family must be Proud

 

[Voight]

Is he? He played 1200+ games and had a resurgence In Minnesota. However, isn't his legacy that he left something to be desired during those post-Cup years in Carolina?

Not his fault ownership seemingly refused to spend money and put a good team around him.

 

[nowhereman]

It's kind of wild that, when you consider how good he looked in his sophomore season, his career sort of left you wanting more. And, yet, he is the 2nd highest scorer of maybe the most stacked draft of all time. Impressive career, no doubt.

 

[ForsbergForever]

It's kind of wild that, when you consider how good he looked in his sophomore season, his career sort of left you wanting more. And, yet, he is the 2nd highest scorer of maybe the most stacked draft of all time. Impressive career, no doubt.

I think this speaks to the final analysis on that 2003 draft class, a ton of 1st liners who were very solid during their peak, mostly topping out at point-per-game production then falling off hard by their early to mid 30s (with the exception of Bergeron). No Crosby, Stamkos, or MacKinnon types despite the overall depth.

 

[Frank Drebin]

He was pivotal in the kotkaniemi drama

Without him, maybe kk didn’t get scratched and sign an offer sheet

Who knows