THUNDER BAY – The rumours are flying about the future of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes.
But forward Jordan Staal says he’s confident the team will remain in Raleigh for the long-term and not scurry north of the border to Quebec or another more hockey-friendly destination.
“Hopefully it lands right back where we are,” said the 27-year-old Staal, coming off a 20-goal, 48-point season with the Hurricanes, playing in all 82 games for the fifth time in his 10-season career.
“There’s been some question about the ownership for the last few years and now it’s obviously a lot more public. It is what it is. It’s more or less out of my control, so it’s not something I need to add anxiety to. But you do worry a little about it.”
With a wife and young children entrenched in North Carolina, moving is the last thing on Staal’s mind these days.
“I feel pretty confident that we’re not moving anywhere and the team is going to keep moving forward, make steps with (our) youth and bring hockey back to Raleigh,” Staal said.
The team’s 73-year-old owner, Peter Karmanos, locked in a bitter $105-million battle with his sons, who say their father borrowed money against multi-million dollar trusts promised to his offspring.
His children say he’s defaulted.
The sons want their father to sell, according to a June 1 article on sportsnet.com, and are valued at US$225 million by Forbes magazine.
The ownership issue aside, it was a tumultuous year for Staal both on and off the ice.
Healthy after missing 36 games in 2014-15, he watched his older brother Eric, the Hurricanes captain, endure months of speculation before being dealt to the New York Rangers at the trade deadline.
The two had played alongside each other for the past four seasons, Jordan arriving in 2011 in a trade with Pittsburgh.
The hardest part to swallow was the Hurricanes weren’t a terrible team, finishing 35-31-16, just 10 points off a wild-card berth.
“At times we were two points, three points out. To have that cloud where guys went and moved and we had an opportunity to maybe make the playoffs and all that roller coaster stuff, it made it difficult.
“With him moving, right in the middle of the season, it was hard,” Staal said.
“But it is a business and we understand that. When you don’t make the playoffs, things have to change and Eric and I and everyone understands that.”
On the ice he said it was probably his best season in a Hurricanes uniform, though missing the playoffs for a fourth straight year still stings.
“I definitely felt confident and felt good about my game. I was just really excited to be involved in a playoff run. Since I’ve been in Carolina, we haven’t really had a spark of being involved and getting that chance to maybe make playoffs,” said a Staal, who won a Stanley Cup in Pittsburgh in 2009.
“I think that definitely drove me and got me excited a lot more. I had a lot of fun this year. Obviously a little less fun once Eric moved on, but … hopefully I can continue to do it again next year.”
