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Contract talks continue between local NHLer Eric Staal and the Carolina Hurricanes

Eric Staal says nothing is imminent in ongoing contract talks with the Carolina Hurricanes. But the two sides are talking, said the Hurricanes captain, who has spent his entire 11-year career with Carolina and would like to stay in Raleigh, N.C.
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(Leith Dunick, tbnewswatch.com)

Eric Staal says nothing is imminent in ongoing contract talks with the Carolina Hurricanes.

But the two sides are talking, said the Hurricanes captain, who has spent his entire 11-year career with Carolina and would like to stay in Raleigh, N.C. if a deal can get done.

“Obviously I have another year left,” Staal said Tuesday before taking to the ice for the annual Easter Seals Celebrity Skate at the Thunder Bay Tournament Centre.

“I’m looking forward to training hard this summer and going from there. My agent and (Hurricanes general manager) Ron (Francis) are still talking here and there, but nothing is imminent right now.”

It’s been a trying couple of seasons for Staal, the oldest of three NHL-playing brothers. After putting up 61 points in 2013-14 and not being invited to return to Canada’s Olympic men’s hockey team, the 30-year-old’s production dropped again in 2014-15, when he scored 54 points as the Hurricanes missed the post-season for the sixth straight campaign.

It’s been 10 years since the Hurricanes won their first and only Stanley Cup. Staal and goaltender Cam Ward are the only two players remaining in Carolina from that team, and rumours abounded after the season that management was thinking about launching into full rebuild mode.

The Hurricanes dumped the disappointing Alexander Semin after the season and many pundits thought it might be the start of a wholesale series of changes that could also see Ward and Eric and Jordan Staal follow him out of town.

For now Eric is taking the politically correct route.

“Obviously I’ve played there my whole career and there are things I want to accomplish and do there,” he said. “Obviously it’s been difficult the last number of years with where we’ve been at and missing the playoffs. I want to see us take a step forward and as a group push back to being a playoff team.”

Staal said he thinks the team is starting to head in the right direction, saying Francis and coach Bill Peters are doing a good job establishing a game plan moving forward.

The Hurricanes have plenty of good, young talent coming up through the system, but they need to take that next step over the summer, get bigger and stronger, to become big contributors next season.

Staal, who has a no-trade clause in his current contract, would like to be a part of that process.

“For me, I want to be a part of that and kind of lead the way. Obviously you need a contract past the year, but we’ll see how that all plays out as we move forward.”

Though his numbers have slipped a bit, he still feels he’s got plenty of hockey left in his 6-foot-4 frame.

“I don’t feel old, I feel like I’ve got a lot of time left. I’ve been in the league a long time. I’ve been in Carolina a long time, so it kind of feels that way. But I still feel great, I feel this summer has been really good so far. I’m training real hard to be ready to go. I still love being on the ice and I still love this game.”

Staal and his brothers will be front and centre next week at the McKenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada’s Staal Founation Open, being staged at Whitewater Golf Club.

 



Leith Dunick

About the Author: Leith Dunick

A proud Nova Scotian who has called Thunder Bay home since 2002, Leith is Dougall Media's director of news, but still likes to tell your stories too. Wants his Expos back and to see Neil Young at least one more time. Twitter: @LeithDunick
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