HENDERSON, Nev. — Jordan Staal clarified his stance on his future with the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday, saying that he is open to signing a new contract with them.
The 34-year-old forward’s comments come more than three months after he said that he would play out his current contract and not seek a new one.
Steal has one season remaining on a 10-year, $60 million contract ($6 million annual average value) he signed with Carolina on July 1, 2012.
“I want to be in the Hurricanes organization for as long as I can, and I’m sure whether it’s an extension now or they re-up me at the end of the year or if they’re done with me, it will happen ,” Staal said at the NHL North American Player Media Tour at Lifeguard Arena. “That’s where I want to be.”
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Staal, who is entering his 11th season with the Hurricanes and fourth as captain, said he’s already had discussions with general manager Don Waddell regarding his contract and expects to continue them before the start of the season.
“We’ve had a few conversations throughout the summer,” Staal said. “I think we’ll revisit it pretty soon here, and we’ll see what they think and what they want to do.”
It was a noted switch for Staal, who said following Carolina’s 6-2 loss to the New York Rangers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Second Round on May 30, “I’m going to ride out this contract. Eleven years is a long time.” time here, and it’s been special. I’m going to ride it out next year and hopefully finish with a bang and go from there.”
When asked Friday if he had changed his mind, Staal acknowledged, “I kind of changed a little bit.” However, he also said that his previous comments were impacted by his emotions and the surprise of being asked about his contract in the immediate aftermath of a season-ending loss.
“When they asked me that question it was like three minutes after we lost. It was right after we lost to New York,” Staal said. “My mindset was always when I started in Hurricane land, I was just focused on getting through it and being relevant and really just being a part of it and then see what happens. So when they asked me that, I was, ‘I have one more year.’ I didn’t think much of it.”
Staal realized soon after that he might have misspoken.
“I was actually really thrown off by the question at the time,” he said. “And after I remember [thinking], ‘Did I just screw that up?’ Because it kind of blew up a little bit. I didn’t even think much of it at the time. But that’s kind of where my head is at now.”
What has also been on Staal’s mind is the thought of how many years he has left, although he still believes he has “more to give.”
Playing in more of a defensive role as the center on the third line last season, Staal had 36 points (17 goals, 19 assists) in 78 regular-season games and six points (one goal, five assists) in 14 Stanley Cup Playoff games. .
“It’s hard to say when you start creeping towards 35 how many years you’ve got left in the tank, and I’ve played [16] years already, but every summer you kind of get refreshed and you start the season, you get excited about it,” Staal said. “It’s what I’ve been doing my whole life.
“So I’m kind of creeping towards I’ll just play until they kick me out of here, but we’ll see.”
Selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins with the No. 2 pick in the 2006 NHL Draft, Staal was traded to the Hurricanes by the Penguins on June 22, 2012, for the No. 8 pick in the 2012 NHL Draft (defenseman Derrick Pouliot), center Brandon Sutter and defenseman Brian Dumoulin. At the time, the trade united him with his brother, Eric Staal, and he played with Eric until the latter was traded to the Rangers on Feb. 28, 2016.
After missing the playoffs in Staal’s first six seasons, the Hurricanes have qualified in each of the past four since hiring Rod Brind’Amour as coach, including finishing first in the Metropolitan Division and setting their record for wins (54) and points (116). last season.
However, Carolina has failed to advance to the Eastern Conference Final since 2019, when it was swept by the Boston Bruins.
Staal said he thinks the Hurricanes can break through and win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2006, though, after they acquired defenseman Brent Burns in a trade with the San Jose Sharks and forward Max Paciorettywho is recovering from a torn Achilles tendon, from the Vegas Golden Knights on July 13.
“We’ve got a lot of similar players coming back, players who have shown they can do it and push the envelope, and I thought we brought in some really good players as well,” Staal said. “That’s going to make us even better. So you never know what’s going to happen, but I feel confident in our team that we can do some really good things and push for looking for that Stanley Cup.”
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