Eric Staal became the fourth member of the Carolina Hurricanes organization to have his jersey retired, as a banner displaying his number 12 was raised atop the Lenovo Center before the Hurricanes-Ducks game of Anaheim, Sunday.
The Thunder Bay, Ontario native and second overall pick in the 2003 draft played 12 of his 18 NHL seasons with the Hurricanes. He collected 455 goals and 608 assists in 1,365 career games. He was captain of the Hurricanes from 2009 to 2016 and was invited to the NHL All-Star Game six times.
The 40-year-old Staal, who announced his retirement in July after signing a one-day contract with the team, joined Rod Brind’Amour (17), Ron Francis (10) and Glen Wesley (2) among Hurricanes legends.
He set several team records for the organization that moved from Hartford to North Carolina in 1997, including those for goals (322), assists (453), points (775), games played (909 ), power play goals (105), power play points (252) and hat tricks (13).
In addition to individual achievements, Staal also helped the Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup in 2006, which he called the greatest moment of his career.
“It’s not easy to win one (Stanley Cup). I only have one, but I won it here,” Staal said.
During the pre-game ceremony, Staal was accompanied on the ice by his family, including his brothers Jordan, who still wears the Hurricanes colors, and Marc, a former NHL defenseman. Current Hurricanes players watched the ceremony from the bench and a few former teammates were also in attendance, including Cam Ward and Justin Williams.
A video was broadcast on the giant screen showing the greatest moments of Staal’s career.
“There are no words to explain how special this is to me,” said Staal, who was occasionally interrupted by spectators chanting his name. When I was young, I never thought I could play in the NHL. »
Staal also received a watch with his name, number and the phrase “Forever a Hurricanes” engraved on it.
