The Carolina Hurricanes have traded captain and longtime face of the franchise Eric Staal just ahead of the Feb. 29 NHL trade deadline.
The New York Rangers announced they've acquired Staal in exchange for prospect Aleksi Saarela and a second-round pick in 2016 and 2017.
TSN's Darren Dreger first reported the deal. Bob McKenzie of TSN added the Hurricanes are "expected to retain as much as 50 percent of Staal's expiring contract."
Per TSN 1200's Ian Mendes earlier in February, Staal said, "I'm not going to be crushed if a decision is made and I'm moving on."
Even though he had a no-trade clause in his contract, it was apparent then that Staal had reached a breaking point with Carolina.
The 31-year-old helped the Hurricanes to a Stanley Cup title in his second year as a pro but hasn't been to the playoffs in the last six seasons. Carolina was wise to at least gain something in return for Staal, who was due to be an unrestricted free agent this offseason and wasn't likely to stay.
The Hurricanes had quite a run with Staal after ...
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Article written by Matt Fitzgerald