The Carolina Hurricanes have signed Eric Staal to a one-day contract, meaning he will retire as a member of the organization. He was selected second overall by the team in the 2003 NHL Draft and scored 322 goals and 775 points in 909 regular season games across 12 seasons. He went on to play six additional seasons, finishing his career with 455 goals and 1063 points in 1365 games.
Staal became the first and only Hurricane in franchise history to score 100+ points in a single season, doing so during his 2005-06 campaign where he scored 45 goals and 55 assists. He is the only player in franchise history to represent the team at four consecutive NHL All-Star games, doing so from 2007-09 and 2011 (2010 NHL All-Star Game was canceled due to the NHL’s participation in the Winter Olympics).
Staal sits second in franchise history in goals (322), assists (453), points (775), and games played (909), trailing only Ron Francis in each category. Staal captained the Hurricanes for seven seasons.
Staal and his brothers, Eric and Jordan, became the only trio of brothers in NHL history to each play in at least 1,000 career games. Jordan is set to begin his seventh season as captain of the Hurricanes, building on the family legacy built in Carolina.
The Hurricanes will retire Eric’s #12 at a to-be-determined date this season.
