RALEIGH, N.C. – Eric Staal has a lot to be proud of.
Eighteen years in the NHL, recording 1,063 points in 1,365 career games; six All-Star nominations, including MVP honors in 2008; and one of just 30 hockey players all-time to join the exclusive Triple Gold Club – winners of the Stanley Cup, Olympic gold and IIHF Men’s World Championship gold in their career.
Those figures alone paint a picture of one of the game’s greats, a special talent who enjoyed a special career. But in the context of the Carolina Hurricanes, he’s nothing short of a legend, a talismanic figure whose name could be written on the very cover of the team’s history book…