No Staaling

Playoffs or bust for Staal

Web Posted: 8/14/2008 9:10:43 AM

Eric Staal is not a happy hockey player. His Carolina Hurricanes, just two years removed from a stunning Stanley Cup thriller, faltered miserably down the stretch last season, missing out on the playoffs and sending Staal home much earlier than planned.

Instead he was forced to cheer on younger brothers Marc and Jordan, of the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins, as they battled for postseason glory, and in Jordan’s case, came within two wins of a championship.

It’s not the way he wanted to spend his spring, and has the 23-year-old that much more focused on leading the Hurricanes back to the promised land.

“We haven’t been there in two years and it was a tough pill to swallow at the end of this year,” said Staal, who rebounded on a personal level, posting 38 goals and 82 points in an equal number of outings.

“It was a challenging year at times. We had some injuries, but we still felt we should have been there and to me, that’s all I’m focused on, trying to help my team get to the playoffs.”

Staal readily admits the disappointment of an unsuccessful season isn’t an easy feeling to part with, faced with a summer to stew over what might have been had they managed to win the final game on their regular season slate.

“That’s kind of what everyone’s going to remember coming into camp,” he said. “There’s going to be a lot of guys raring to go and erase that as quickly as possible.”

One of the guys no longer in that mix is longtime roommate Erik Cole, dealt to Edmonton in a trade that saw former top-four pick Joni Pitkanen brought in to shore up the Carolina blue-line.

It will mean a period of adjustment for Staal, who will have to get used to a new personality on the road as he enters the final $4.5-million year left on his contract, setting him up for restricted free agency status next summer if a new deal isn’t negotiated.

“It’s definitely tough, but for Erik it’s a new start in a hockey market that will be ready for him. It’s part of the business. We know what we’re getting into when you get into the NHL and professional sports. I wish him the best. He was one of my best friends and a roommate for four years. It’s going to be different without him, but I’m looking forward to new challenges for myself.”

The Hurricanes, other than the Pitkanen deal, have been relatively quiet in the offseason, preferring minor tinkering to major overhauls. Staal said general manager Jim Rutherford’s decision to stay the course isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“Sometimes when teams do too much, or get too many players, you expect to get there (immediately). For us, we’ve got a good group of players, a good core. We added a little more on defence. We have a great goalie. It’s just a matter of playing that consistent hockey night in and night out. And we have to start doing that as soon as we get out of camp.”

In other words, the pieces are in place, it’s just a matter of piecing them together to form the bigger picture.

“I hope it’s less than people think,” he said.

“There are some good teams that miss the playoffs every year when you have only 16 teams making it out of 30. It’s tough, but you need to play good hockey all throughout the season. You can’t have any lulls.”