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Eric Staal

Sabres Hire Eric Staal As Special Advisor

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The Buffalo Sabres have hired former NHL forward Eric Staal as a special advisor to general manager Kevyn Adams. Staal’s role will involve supporting multiple aspects of the hockey department, including scouting and direct involvement with players and prospects. That could mean supporting the team’s pre-season rookie or training camps, which would offer invaluable experience to a young Sabres playerbase.

Staal brings 18 years of NHL experience, and a 2006 Stanley Cup win and Finals appearances in 2021 and 2023, to the Sabres organization. He only played in 32 games with the Sabres over his extensive career – coming at the start of the shortened 2020-21 campaign. Staal recorded 10 points and a minus-20 with the Sabres, before being dealt to the Montreal Canadiens mid-season, where he finished the year with 11 points in 42 games, between the regular and postseason.

The bulk of Staal’s career was spent across the Eastern Conference with the Metropolitan Division’s Carolina Hurricanes. He was drafted second-overall in the 2003 NHL Draft and moved to the NHL right away. He was immediately impactful and scored 11 goals and 31 points in 81 games of his rookie season. But that was only a glimmer of Staal’s upside and, after spending the lockout 2004-05 season in the AHL, he posted a true breakout campaign in the 2005-06 season. Staal led the Hurricanes in scoring with an incredible 45 goals and 100 points in the regular season, then added 28 points in 25 postseason games to push Carolina to the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

Staal never topped his performance in 2005-06, but he did continue to rival 30 or 40 goals and/or 70 or 80 points throughout the next 10 years in Carolina. That scoring stuttered when he left Carolina for the New York Rangers partway through the 2015-16 season, but Staal rediscovered it by joining the Minnesota Wild from 2016 to 2020. He added two more seasons of 65-or-more points, and one 40-goal campaign in his age-33 season, during his time in Minnesota. Staal left for the Sabres in the 2020 off-season, and lost his grip on top scoring soon after that – though he had a pair of final hoorays as the 2021 Canadiens and 2023 Panthers carried him to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Both teams lost, but the experience gave Staal a hint of the Cup-winning heights he reached early in his career. He’ll now turn his attention towards the operational side of hockey, looking to bring a habit of Cup pursuits to a desolate Sabres squad. With the right momentum, this could be the move that sparks a long managerial career for Staal.

Eric Staal Announces Retirement

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It’s been all quiet on the Western Front for Eric Staal for over a year now. The free-agent center reached the Stanley Cup Final with the Panthers in 2023 but didn’t sign or play anywhere last season.

On Tuesday, Staal confirmed he’d played his last NHL game, signing a one-day contract with Carolina to retire as a Hurricane. The Canes will also retire Staal’s No. 12 at a yet-to-be-announced game this season.

“I want to thank my family, former teammates, coaches and staff members who played a role in helping me live my dream, playing in the NHL,” Staal said in a statement released by the team. “I will forever treasure the memories and friendships made during my 18 years in the world’s best league.”

“There was no doubt in my mind that when it became time to hang up my skates, I would want to retire as a Carolina Hurricane,” he continued. “To now also know that the team is retiring my No. 12 is truly humbling and I am extremely grateful and honored.”

Staal, 39, is often overlooked as one of the NHL’s early salary-cap-era stars. But the Thunder Bay, Ontario native was always expected to make an indelible impact on the Canes after being drafted second overall in the famously stacked 2003 draft. While he hasn’t played there in over eight years – his tenure ended with a trade to the Rangers in 2016 – he’s still arguably the most impactful talent in Carolina history since the franchise relocated from Hartford in 1997.

His best came early, erupting as a sophomore in the 2005-06 season to lead the Canes in scoring with 45 goals and 100 points, both career-highs. 21 at the time, Staal was the centerpiece of the Canes’ best season in franchise history to that point, crossing the 50-win and 100-point thresholds for the first time. It ended in glory, adding nine goals and 28 points in 25 playoff games as he led the team in scoring en route to their first and only Stanley Cup.

Over parts of 12 seasons in Raleigh, Staal solidified himself as the Canes’ post-relocation leader in games played (909), goals (322), assists (453), points (775), power-play goals (105), power-play points (252) and hat tricks (13) – hat tip to the team’s Walt Ruff for those stats. He averaged over 20 minutes per game in a Carolina uniform and served as their captain from 2009 to 2016, succeeding franchise pillar Rod Brind’Amour.

Age-related decline came for Staal early, though, and his point totals were steadily decreasing by the time he was traded to the Rangers at age 31. His stay with the Blueshirts didn’t extend past the last few months of the season, and he landed in the State of Hockey with the Wild as a free agent in the summer of 2016. He had a bit of a resurgence in Minnesota, most remembered for a 42-goal, 76-point campaign in 2017-18 that placed him 17th in Hart Trophy voting. But his days of being a dominant top-line threat were behind him.

He played the final few seasons of his career with the Sabres, Canadiens and Panthers, serving as a good veteran depth piece on Montreal and Florida teams that each reached the championship series (2021 and 2023, respectively). But he couldn’t recapture the honor he had nearly two decades ago and was on the losing end of both series.

All in all, Staal wraps up his career with 455 goals, 608 assists and 1,063 points in 1,365 NHL games across 18 seasons. The eldest of the four Staal brothers with NHL experience, including Jared Staal, Jordan Staal and Marc Staal, retires at 76th on the league’s all-time scoring list. All of us at PHR congratulate Staal on a championship-caliber career and wish him the best as he enters the next phase of his hockey career.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Florida Panthers Loan Spencer Knight To AHL

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8:05 PM: According to CapFriendly, veteran forward Eric Staal was placed on injured reserve today, making room for the recall of Guzda. Staal lands on injured reserve after leaving yesterday’s game after a big reverse hit from Mike Matheson. Matheson earned a fine for the hit earlier today.

4:16 PM: It’s been a wild 24 hours for goaltending in South Florida, as Sergei Bobrovsky left last night’s game against the Montreal Canadiens due to injury. Reigning Calder Cup champion Alex Lyon was forced into action, and he guided his team to a victory. Now, it seems there could be some more stability coming to the team’s equation in the crease.

The Panthers have announced that netminder Spencer Knight has been loaned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers. The move has been made presumably with the intention of Knight staying in the American League for conditioning purposes. He’s working his way back from an injury that landed him on injured reserve ten days ago.

Knight has been solid this season even as the Panthers team around him has regressed. Through 19 games played, he has posted a .906 save percentage. He returns to the AHL level for the first time since last season, when he spent a total of eleven games in Charlotte. In his last tenure there he went 7-4 with a .905 save percentage.

With Bobrovsky’s health status still unclear, getting Knight back to full health will be crucial as the Panthers look to build momentum in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Along with Knight’s departure to the AHL comes the recall of netminder Mack Guzda to the Panthers’ roster. This recall is presumably of the emergency variety, as the Panthers currently don’t have room on their active roster for a third goalie.

Guzda, 22, is in the midst of his first professional season. He’s spent the entirety of this year in Charlotte, and has a 9-4-2 record and .908 save percentage in 16 games played for the Checkers. He’ll be expected to back up Lyon should Bobrovsky not be ready in time for Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Wild.

Injury Updates: Carlo, Staal, Crouse, Pacioretty

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The Boston Bruins have announced that defenseman Brandon Carlo has suffered a lower-body injury, and is unlikely to return to tonight’s game against the New York Rangers. Carlo, a 26-year-old stay-at-home defenseman, is no stranger to injury issues, although this one is thankfully of the lower-body variety. While no injury is ever good news for a player, Carlo has battled concussions during his tenure as a Bruin, meaning the fact that this injury isn’t adding to that history is worth being thankful for.

Carlo blocked a hard shot from New York Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad in the second period of tonight’s game, and it’s likely that this injury has something to do with that block. The Bruins will hope that Carlo leaving tonight’s game proves to be an ultimately unnecessary precaution, as Carlo has been an important part of the team’s defensive formula and they’re likely to want him back on the ice as soon as he’s able.

Some other injury updates from across the NHL:

  • Another Florida Panther has left tonight’s game against the Montreal Canadiens: Eric Staal. After starting netminder Sergei Bobrovsky left early in the game, the team announced that Staal had suffered an upper-body injury and would not return for the rest of the match. The injury seemed to come after Staal took a hit from Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson.
  • The Arizona Coyotes have announced that forward Lawson Crouse will miss tonight’s game with an upper-body injury. The 25-year-old 2015 first-round pick is in the middle of what is shaping up to be the best season of his career. He’s already scored 16 goals in just 43 games of action, and the team has to be hoping that he can return to action as soon as possible.
  • There was a terrible scene in the dying seconds of tonight’s Carolina Hurricanes game. Forward Max Pacioretty, who just recently returned to the ice after surgery to repair a torn Achilles, needed to be helped off the ice after suffering a non-contact lower-body injury. The News and Observer’s Luke DeCock noted that the leg Pacioretty injured tonight was the same as where he had his Achilles injury, which is obviously not a good sign for Pacioretty and the Hurricanes whatsoever. But until the Hurricanes get a closer look at Pacioretty’s status, all anyone can do is hope this ends up simply being a minor scare, and not a potential setback in the recovery from his offseason surgery.

Florida Panthers Sign Eric Staal

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After skating on a professional tryout that extended into the regular season, Eric Staal has earned a contract. The Florida Panthers have agreed to a one-year, one-way contract with the veteran forward according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. The deal will carry a salary of $750K.

Staal, 37, is quite the story of perseverance, after not playing in the NHL at all last season. Instead of signing on with a team, he played a handful of games for the Iowa Wild before captaining Canada at the 2022 Olympics. While there were many reports that he was hoping to sign for a stretch run after the tournament ended, a contract never materialized.

Now, he’ll join brother Marc Staal with the Panthers for at least one last go-round in the NHL, and try to show once again why he may one day get into the Hall of Fame. The second-overall pick from 2003 has 1,034 points in 1,293 career regular season games and won the Stanley Cup in 2006 with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Even in his last appearance in the NHL, with the Montreal Canadiens in 2021, he somehow found a new gear in the postseason. After being rather underwhelming during the regular season, Staal put up eight points in 21 games for the Canadiens as they took a Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Final.

While he certainly won’t be a huge difference-maker for the Panthers, there are worse depth options to bring in with the added cap space from moving Aaron Ekblad to long-term injured reserve. Staal is, after all, 78th all-time in NHL points, and has been skating with the team long enough to fully understand their systems and structure.

Florida Panthers Sign Marc, Eric Staal

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The Florida Panthers are bringing in some brotherly love, signing Marc Staal to a one-year, $750K deal and Eric Staal to a professional tryout, according to Bob McKenzie of TSN.

The state of Florida will actually have three Staals on the ice, as younger brother Jared Staal is an associate coach with the Orlando Solar Bears. When Jordan Staal and the Carolina Hurricanes come to town, it can be a family reunion.

For the Panthers, adding Marc Staal on a league-minimum deal will give them a veteran presence to plug in whenever necessary. The 35-year-old defenseman has played over 1,000 regular season games, including 71 this season for the Detroit Red Wings.

While he isn’t the elite shutdown option he once was, the veteran defender is still an NHL-level talent that can handle penalty killing and third-pairing responsibilities. He may not play every night for Florida but when you look at a team that paid a huge price for defensive depth at the deadline, adding him now makes sense.

Eric Staal meanwhile didn’t play in the NHL last season, sitting out and suiting up at the Olympics instead. He was always open to a return but never found a job, suggesting that his career may be over. A PTO will give him a chance but it’s hard to see how the 37-year-old fits into the high-flying style of the Panthers.

Eric Staal Named Captain Of 2022 Canadian Olympic Squad

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Hockey Canada has announced the leadership group for the upcoming Olympic Games, with Eric Staal the obvious choice as captain of the club. He’ll be joined by David Desharnais and Maxim Noreau as alternates.

Staal, 37, has not only appeared in the Olympics previously–he went when the NHL was still participating. A member of the 2010 gold medal-winning squad in Vancouver, the veteran forward is already a member of the exclusive Triple Gold Club, with Olympic gold, World Championship gold, and a Stanley Cup championship. This is the second time he’s served as captain for Team Canada, having also worn the “C” in 2013 at the Worlds.

With the scattered talent that’s on the team, Staal was always going to be the captain as he brings more experience than anyone else. He very well could skate with someone nearly two decades his junior, if Mason McTavish can work his way up the lineup. He’ll have another veteran forward to lean on either way though, as Desharnais gets an “A” after three excellent years playing in Switzerland. The 35-year-old had a strong NHL career of his own, racking up 282 points in 524 career games.

Noreau, a player that might be much less familiar to NHL fans given he played just six games with the Minnesota Wild more than a decade ago, is the other alternate after a long successful career in Switzerland. He’s also a returning member of the 2018 Olympic group, where he also wore an “A” en route to a bronze medal. The 34-year-old defenseman should likely play a role on the powerplay given his offensive skillset, though young Owen Power has the ability to play in all situations including with the man-advantage.

Meanwhile, Canada’s pre-tournament tune-up game in Switzerland before they travel to Beijing has been canceled due to COVID concerns for EV Zug, the scheduled opponent. For Staal and his team, the tournament will begin on February 10.

Eric Staal, Owen Power Headline Team Canada 2022 Olympic Roster

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Jan 25: The roster below has been confirmed, and Chris Johnston of TSN also has the full group of alternates. Justin Pogge, Morgan Ellis, John Gilmour, Chris DiDomenico, Kent Johnson, and Max Veronneau will all be traveling to Beijing and could see action depending on injuries and illnesses.

Jan 24: While the official announcement from Hockey Canada isn’t until tomorrow, the IIHF mistakenly tweeted out the roster for the upcoming 2022 Olympics this afternoon. The tweet has since been deleted, but not before it was seen by many including PHR. Canada’s roster is filled with names familiar to NHL fans, including Stanley Cup champion and veteran of nearly 1,300 games Eric Staal.

The full roster:

G Devon Levi
G Eddie Pasquale
G Matt Tomkins

D Brandon Gormley
D Alex Grant
D Owen Power
D Tyler Wotherspoon
D Mat Robinson
D Mark Barberio
D Jason Demers
D Maxim Noreau

F Daniel Carr
F Corban Knight
F Ben Street
F Jack McBain
F Eric Staal
F Adam Tambellini
F Eric O’Dell
F Daniel Winnik
F Adam Cracknell
F Mason McTavish
F Landon Ferraro
F David Desharnais
F Jordan Weal
F Joshua Ho-Sang

Of note, the announcement did not come with the six-man alternate group that Darren Dreger of TSN reported on this morning. Olympic teams will get to bring a handful of extra skaters that would be eligible to play in case of injury or COVID-related issues. Kent Johnson, who didn’t appear on the final roster, is expected to be among Canada’s alternates.

Snapshots: Canadiens, Staal, Brown

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The Montreal Canadiens are getting closer to naming a new general manager, as Eric Engels of Sportsnet reports they’ve narrowed their search to just three candidates. Engels believes that Daniel Briere and Mathieu Darche are two of those three, and notes that some of the other candidates interviewed could still land different positions with the organization.

Montreal has been without a GM since firing Marc Bergevin in November, but with Jeff Gorton in place as executive vice president of hockey operations, there was no rush to fill the position. Even the new hire isn’t expected to carry the same weight of responsibility that Bergevin did over the last decade and was always expected to be someone with less experience in NHL front offices. While Darche has been with the Tampa Bay Lightning since 2019, Briere has been serving as GM and president of the Maine Mariners of the ECHL the last several years.

  • While Eric Staal is focused on the Olympics with Team Canada, he spoke to Michael Russo of The Athletic and indicated that he would gladly drop that dream to sign in the NHL immediately, if a team offered him a contract. It isn’t likely that contract is going to come with the Minnesota Wild, even though Staal is currently with their AHL affiliate on a professional tryout. Staal currently sits at 1,293 regular season games played and could become just the 64th player in NHL history to break 1,300 should he sign for the stretch run this year.
  • Connor Brown played more than 19 minutes last night, scoring a goal and an assist in the Ottawa Senators win over the Calgary Flames. He did it all with a broken jaw, apparently, as head coach D.J. Smith told TSN radio today that the forward was hit with a puck in the warm-up that caused the injury. He’ll is considered out week-to-week now as he recovers. Brown has five goals and 19 points in 26 games this season.

Eric Staal Signs AHL PTO

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As reported yesterday, the Iowa Wild have signed veteran center Eric Staal to an AHL professional tryout agreement, giving him a chance to tune up his game in preparation for the Olympics next month. Staal also hopes to earn an NHL agreement after the international tournament, though that is obviously a little further down the line.

Now 37, Staal has only ever played one season in the AHL and that was during the 2004-05 NHL lockout. That year he suited up for the Lowell Lock Monsters, recording 77 points in 77 games on a roster that also included names like Chuck Kobasew, Mark Giordano, and Cam Ward. More than 1,200 NHL games later and Staal is now heading back to the minors, if only for a handful of games.

The Wild play the next two nights at home against the Chicago Wolves, before welcoming in the Milwaukee Admirals and Manitoba Moose next week. It remains to be seen whether Staal will travel with the team when they hit the road for three games later this month. Canada’s first Olympic game is scheduled for February 10 against Germany, though the official roster has not yet been announced.

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