Staal announced his retirement from the NHL on Tuesday.
Staal signed a ceremonial contract to retire as a member of the Hurricanes on Tuesday. Carolina will retire his No. 12 jersey sometime during the 2024-25 campaign. Staal compiled 455 goals and 1,063 points in 1,365 career contests for the Hurricanes, Rangers, Wild, Sabres, Canadiens and Panthers. The 39-year-old forward also registered 25 tallies and 64 points across 104 career playoff outings. Staal won the Stanley Cup with Carolina in 2006.
Staal logged an assist in Thursday's 3-2 overtime win over the Golden Knights in Game 3.
Staal helped out on Brandon Montour's opening tally 4:08 into the game. It's been a sudden burst of offense for Staal, who has earned three of his five points this postseason over the last four games. The veteran center also has a minus-4 rating, 11 shots on net and 13 hits while working on the fourth line.
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Panthers' Eric Staal: Tallies shorthanded goal
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Staal scored a shorthanded goal, dished two hits and added two PIM in Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Golden Knights in Game 1.
Staal opened the scoring midway through the first period. The 38-year-old has two points over his last two games since he snapped a 12-game skid. While he's far from a focal piece of the Panthers' offense, he can still chip in a bit from the fourth line. He has four points, 11 shots on net, 13 hits and a minus-3 rating through 17 playoff contests.
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Panthers' Eric Staal: Contributes goal vs. Boston
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Staal provided a goal in Florida's 6-3 win over Boston in Game 2 on Wednesday.
Staal was on a six-game goal-scoring slump, during which he registered one assist. The 38-year-old is up to 24 goals and 60 points over 85 career playoff contests, though he was limited to just two goals and eight points in 21 outings during his previous playoff run with Montreal in 2021. That's not surprising given that Staal is serving as a bottom-six forward at this stage of his career. Even with the goal, which came midway through the second period, he logged just 10:43 of ice time Wednesday.
Staal scored a goal in Florida's 5-2 victory over Detroit on Monday.
Staal has been held off the scoresheet only once in his last four games, providing a goal and two assists in that span. Overall in 2022-23 though, he's been limited to 13 goals and 25 points in 60 appearances. The 38-year-old's prime is well behind him and at this stage of his career, Florida uses him in a bottom-six capacity. Entering Monday's action, Staal was averaging a career-low 13:47 of ice time this season.
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Panthers' Eric Staal: Two points in Tuesday's win
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Staal scored a goal and an assist in Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Lightning.
He opened the scoring early in the first period, tipping home a Josh Mahura point shot, before setting up Anthony Duclair for an empty-netter late in the third. Staal's days of consistent fantasy relevance are far behind him, but the 38-year-old has provided a spark on offense in recent weeks, collecting five goals and seven points over 10 games in February.
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Panthers' Eric Staal: Scores Monday
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Staal scored a goal on four shots in Monday's 4-3 overtime victory over the Ducks.
Staal got Florida on the board early in the second period, putting home a rebound off a Radko Gudas shot to cut the deficit to 2-1. The goal snapped a four-game scoreless skid for Staal. The 38-year-old center is up to 20 points (11 goals, nine assists) through 50 games this season while playing a bottom-six role.
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Panthers' Eric Staal: Sets franchise record with goals
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Staal scored two shorthanded, empty-net goals Thursday in a 4-1 win over San Jose.
Staal's two goals in 34 seconds were the fastest two third-period goals in Panthers' history, bettering Vincent Trocheck's two in 38 seconds on April 2, 2015. He now has 10 goals and eight assists in 44 games, but at 38, Staal's best is behind him.
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Panthers' Eric Staal: Takes advantage of turnover
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Staal scored on his only shot in Monday's 7-1 win over the Lightning.
Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy stepped out of the crease and misplayed the puck, which resulted in a relatively easy goal for Staal. The veteran has eight goals and the same number of assists through 43 games in his debut season with the Panthers.
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Panthers' Eric Staal: Ready to rock
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Staal (upper body) is expected to be activated off injured reserve and return to the lineup Friday versus the Kings, David Dwork of Local 10 Miami reports.
Staal should return to a bottom-six role following his three-game absence. The 38-year-old vet has collected seven goals and 14 points while averaging 13:32 of ice time through 40 contests this season.
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Panthers' Eric Staal: Lands on IR
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Staal (upper body) was placed on injured reserve Friday, CapFriendly reports.
Staal was injured against Montreal on Thursday and will now miss at least a week of action. The 38-year-old has 14 points in 40 games this season but just one in his last seven appearances. Colin White will likely get back into the lineup during Staal's absence.
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Panthers' Eric Staal: Won't return to Thursday's game
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Staal (upper body) won't return to Thursday's game versus the Canadiens.
Staal was hit hard by Mike Matheson late in the first period, and it's enough to end the Florida center's night. If he can't play Saturday versus the Wild, Colin White or Chris Tierney would be options to enter the lineup.
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Panthers' Eric Staal: Nets two goals vs. Arizona
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Staal provided two goals in a 5-3 win against Arizona on Tuesday.
Staal's second marker, which came at 16:01 of the second period, proved to be the game-winner. He has six goals and 12 points in 32 contests this season. At the age of 38, Staal's not expected to make major offensive contributions, but he might be in the early stages of a hot streak after recording three goals and four points over his last two games.
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Panthers' Eric Staal: Scores second of the season
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Staal scored a goal on four shots in the Panthers' 7-3 loss to Boston on Monday.
Staal cut the lead to 4-2 of a one-timer feed from Gustav Forsling with 14:18 left to play in the second period. This was the former Hurricane's second goal of the season and seventh point through 26 games.
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Panthers' Eric Staal: Assists in back-to-back games
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Staal produced an assist in Saturday's 5-1 win over the Kraken.
Staal had no points over his first month with the Panthers, but he's started December with two assists through two games. The 38-year-old also saw a season-high 18:15 of ice time, as the Panthers' growing injury concerns have opened up a larger role for him. He's contributed 22 shots on net, 12 blocked shots and a minus-4 rating through 18 contests, and with Aleksander Barkov (illness) not too far from a return, it's safe to assume Staal's role is set to decline soon.
