Hurricanes Sign Eric Staal to Seven-Year Extension
 

RALEIGH, NC— Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has signed center Eric Staal to a seven-year contract extension. The $57.75 million deal begins with the 2009-10 NHL season and extends through the 2015-16 season, paying Staal an average of $8.25 million per season.

“This is a great day for hockey in the Carolinas, to know that our franchise player will be with us for at least another eight seasons,” said Rutherford. “Eric has been a special player for us right from the start. We know that he is just coming into his prime right now, and will continue to grow as a player.”

Staal, 23, completed his fourth NHL season in 2007-08, leading the Hurricanes in goals (38), assists (44), points (82), games played (82), game-winning goals (7), power-play goals (14), power-play points (35), shots (310), takeaways (56) and total time on ice (1,774). He was named the team’s Most Valuable Player by the Carolina chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, and ranked tied for 11th in the NHL in goals (38), tied for 15th in game-winning goals (7), tied for 11th in power-play goals (14) and eighth in shots (310). The Thunder Bay, Ont., native served as an alternate captain for the Hurricanes and also led the team in multi-goal games (4), multi-assist games (10) and multi-point games (23). Staal appeared in his second NHL All-Star Game, and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player after scoring a pair of goals and assisting on Marc Savard’s game-winner as the Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference 8-7 in Atlanta.

Drafted second overall by the Hurricanes in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, Staal has appeared in 327 career games with Carolina, totaling 124 goals and 159 assists (283 points). He has missed just one game due to injury, and enters the 2008-09 season with a 254-game consecutive games-played streak. Staal established career highs in goals (45), assists (55) and points (100) during the 2005-06 season, when he set a franchise record for goals in a season by a center with 45. During the Hurricanes’ run to the Stanley Cup championship in 2006, he led all NHL skaters in points (28), assists (19), power-play goals (7), power-play assists (10), power-play points (17) and shots (87), setting franchise records for most assists, most points and longest point-streak in a playoff season.

Staal has also been involved with Canada in international competition three times: as a reserve for the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy, as a member of the gold-medal-winning Canadian team at the 2007 IIHF World Championships and as a member of the 2008 silver-meal-winning team at the 2008 IIHF World Championships.

Excellent!

Good move by the Canes to lock up their franchise player. If Staal can get back to that 100-point level of play, Carolina's offense could be able to compensate pretty well for a relatively weak blueline.

Face of teh franchise is back for 7 more years. Sounds like a good deal to me.

Shows that the lockout solved nothing.... This contract and Rick DiPietro's...

This is a lot of money. I'm not gonna say they overpaid, he is their franchise but still, a lot of money. Only Crosby, Ovechkin and Malkin are getting more.

It's essentially the same deal Vinny Lecavalier got. Slightly more money per season ($8.25 mil compared with $8 mil, I think), but shorter length. And to the above poster, Eric Staal's contract is hardly even in the same league as DiPietro's. Less than half the time. If you're going to pout, point the finger at Philadelphia (Mike Richards 11 years), Washington (Alex Ovechkin - 10 years), and Tampa Bay (Lecavalier - 8 years...I think it's 8, someone correct me if I'm wrong).

That being said, I'm not a fan of contracts over 4 years anyway. However, had we signed Staal to a contract like that, we would not have been able to resign him. The fact remains, however, that Staal is our best player and future captain. The team considers Staal's 70-point campaign two season ago an aberration. They're thinking he is more likely the player that put up 100 points in 2005-2006, his rookie season for all intents and purposes, or the player that averaged 2 points per game after team captain Rod Brind'Amour went down. He put up 82 points in 82 games last season, while leading the team in every offensive category (goals (38), assists (44), points (82), games played (82), game-winning goals (7), power-play goals (14), power-play points (35), shots (310), takeaways (56) and total time on ice (1,774)).

Long story short...we'll see. What is certain is that this team should be a contender in a wide-open Eastern Conference. Keep in mind, Carolina has nearly double the amount of man-games lost due to injury than the second place team over the past 2 seasons. It's hard to compete when 4 of your top 6 forwards are gone for half the season, still this team should have made the playoffs last season.

These long-term deals are really getting beyond the joke. So many variables for such a long deal. I'm waiting for someone Tavares after he's drafted to be handed a 26yr deal that comes into effect straight after his entry-level deal.

You're right that a lot of the long-term deals are getting insane (with DiPietro's still in the lead), but I don't think 7 years for a guy like Staal is that ridiculous. He's the franchise player for Carolina, and he'll only be 30 by the time this deal expires. Which means, barring some major injury troubles, he should still be an outstanding player. With the reduced age of eligibility for unrestricted free agency, there's nothing wrong with the Canes wanting to make sure they have Staal in the fold for the next few years. The only thing that I think is questionable about this deal is the amount of money, but given his importance to the organization, I don't think they vastly overpaid.

But I do agree, there seem to be a fair share of players who are bound to fall off by the time they get through with their long deals. You have the crazy deals for longer than a decade for the younger stars, and the long-term deals for veteran guys who are already showing sings of being on the downswing (see: Wade Redden). It doesn't seem to be an intelligent trend by the GMs, but once one guy gets it, I guess that dictates the rest of the market.

This deal was rejected by the NHL BTW!

Seems like just a minor technicality in the wording of the NTC.

Hurricanes blow nutz anyways. no need to get worked up here.

Hurricanes must re-submit Staal's contract