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Jordan Staal is Quietly Having His Best Season for the Hurricanes

By Charles Taylor

Dec 23, 2016; Raleigh, NC, USA; Carolina Hurricanes forward Jordan Staal (11) celebrates his second period goal against the Boston Bruins at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 23, 2016; Raleigh, NC, USA; Carolina Hurricanes forward Jordan Staal (11) celebrates his second period goal against the Boston Bruins at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jordan Staal is very quietly putting together his best ever season in a Carolina Hurricanes sweater.

As a player and as a leader, Jordan Staal doesn’t make a lot of noise. He prefers to go about his business with silent precision. It is because of this that many haven’t noticed the great season Jordan Staal has been able to piece together. The 2016-17 season has been Staal’s best in Carolina.

Going into this season, for the first time in his career, Jordan Staal was the main man of his team. The departure of his brother left Staal in the precarious position of having to define himself and his team, while still having to carry the burden as the ‘Staal’ brother in Carolina, but this time on his own than together with Eric. This has surely been a weird experience for Jordan.

Staal has risen to the challenge. Slowed down only be a minor injury in the fall, Staal has been a commanding presence for Carolina. He sits at about 0.62 points per game, meaning Staal will end up with 46 points in only 74 games (assuming he plays all remaining contests). Now in his fifth year with the franchise, he is having his best offensive season since the lockout year of 2013.

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Part of Staal’s offensive resurgence comes from him being able to have more skillful wingers with him. Gone are the days when he was flanked by Patrick Dwyer. He and Sebastian Aho have been a good tandem this year. Same goes with Teuvo Teravainen. Those guys have given Staal more time and space to do more damage. His 2nd highest ever shooting percentage with the Canes is evidence of that.

Model of Consistency

Staal’s play has been just as good on the other end of the ice. He remains one of the NHL’s elites in shot attempts at 5v5. He currently sits 12th the league in this catergory of forwards with over 35 games. Same thing applies to takeaways. A premier puck stealer, Staal is top 30 among forwards with 47 on the season even after missing 8 games this year. Of course then there is his faceoff winning percentage which has hovered around 60% all season, a number only matched by few in the league.

With so much to write home about, it is surprising Staal hasn’t received much talk this season. Perhaps the success of his linemates Aho and Teravainen are overshadowing him somewhat. It might also be his brother’s success with the Minnesota Wild. Maybe no one is paying attention?

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In reality, it is probably because Staal is Carolina’s sturdiest player. Number 11 has proven himself enough for Canes fans to have a baseline of expectations. He is a minimum 40 point guy who always battles the other team’s top line every night. This season though has surpassed those measures. In a year where Carolina has repeatedly made missteps, no one has walked straighter than Jordan Staal. That quiet consistency has allowed Staal’s best season in Carolina red to go almost totally unnoticed.

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