NEW YORK -- On the eve of his return to Raleigh, N.C., former Carolina Hurricanes captain Eric Staal has written a thank-you letter on The Players’ Tribune to the NHL team and its fans.
Staal, a pending unrestricted free agent dealt to the New York Rangers at the trade deadline, said the most difficult part of leaving the Hurricanes, other than saying good-bye to teammates and younger brother Jordan, was watching his now former teammates getting ready for a game that night.
“For more than a decade, there weren’t that many Canes games that I hadn’t been a part of,” he wrote. “It was odd to be watching everybody – the players, the trainers, event the front office – getting into their routine while I was packing up.
“It really hit me hard at that moment just how much I was going to miss everything. Bu I also saw that life goes on.”
Staal spent the bulk of his first 13 seasons with the Hurricanes, where he became the team’s second all-time leading scorer, collecting 322 goals and 775 points in 909 career games.
The 31-year-old Staal has seen his offensive totals slump this season, scoring just 13 goals and 38 points in 77 appearances with Carolina and New York, where he joined younger brother Marc in a search for a second Stanley Cup.
He won his first in 2006 with the Hurricanes and also won Olympic gold for Canada at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver.
Staal singled out several former teammates, including current Carolina general manager Ron Francis and goaltender Cam Ward, the lone Hurricane player remaining in Raleigh from that Stanley Cup winning season.
But it was the chance to play with Jordan, who joined the Hurricanes on the night of his June 2010 wedding that meant the most to the veteran forward.
“Sometimes I’d look up and I’d see my younger brother waiting for a pass and in that brief second, I’d just have to pinch myself. Never ever in a million years did I think I’d be so fortunate as to celebrate goals with him in the NHL,” Staal writes.
“We’re just the kids of a couple of sod farmers who love hockey. Playing in this league is an incredible special honour. But being able to do it with the people closest to you is something else entirely. I’ll always be thankful for that opportunity.
He went on to say he’s looking forward to creating more magic with middle brother Marc, adding while his job in Carolina was to lead, with the Rangers it’s to fit in, calling it a day-to-day process.
“I’m getting to experience the game from a perspective I’ve never had before.”
He stressed in his letter he’ll never forget his time playing for the Hurricanes, the team that made him the No. 2 pick in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.
“I may play for New York now, but Carolina is always going to feel like home.”
The Rangers visit Carolina on Thursday night.
