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Carolina Hurricanes: How the Jordan Staal Trade Has Changed the Canes

By Charles Taylor

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Over 3 years later, the Jordan Staal trade has changed the Carolina Hurricanes.

With the rumors swirling over Eric Staal‘s future with the Carolina Hurricanes, questions have begun to appear concerning his brother Jordan Staal‘s future as well. The assumption is that Eric’s departure, whether its a trade or free agency, could mean that Jordan will leave the Hurricanes. If this season really is the last that the Staal’s are a part of the Carolina Hurricanes, it would be the end of a decade long era where a Staal brother has been the face of the franchise.

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The potential loss of Jordan Staal would be a major change for the organization. With that now a possibility, has his time in Carolina a success? Was he worth it for the organization? Who won the trade at the 2012 NHL Draft, Carolina or Pittsburgh? Let’s see what has happened since that important day in summer 2012.

First, let’s recall what happened on the day of the trade. It was the 2012 NHL draft and Carolina owned the 8th overall pick, but elected to trade that pick along with defenseman prospect Brian Dumoulin and center Brandon Sutter for Pittsburgh Penguins center Jordan Staal. It was the biggest moment of that edition of the NHL Draft. It just so happened that the 2012 draft was hosted in Pittsburgh, so the crowd went insane when the trade was announced. Led by former general manager Ray Shero, the Penguins leadership selected Portland Winterhawks defenseman Derrick Pouliot with their newly acquired pick from Carolina.

Then Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford capitalized on failed contract negotiations between Jordan Staal and the Penguins. Rutherford made the trade in order to form a second punch behind Eric Staal, something the Hurricanes had struggled to find in previous years. Also, marketing the Staal brothers got the entire league talking about Carolina, which was a good thing. From the Penguins perspective, they cashed in on having an embarrassment of riches with Jordan being their 3rd line center. Shero, handcuffed by Staal’s contract rejection, dealt his player for a more normal 3rd line center in Brandon Sutter and two defensive prospects.

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At that time, it looked like a great deal for both sides. For Carolina, it looked like they finally had some scoring depth. If you throw in the signing of Alexander Semin, Carolina had seriously revamped their offense. Pittsburgh received a young centerman in Sutter and new prospects to fill in behind Kris Letang and Paul Martin.

Flash forward about three and a half years, and a lot has changed for both teams. Jordan still remains a focal point of the Hurricanes team, usually shutting down their opponents big scoring line. Carolina’s GM Jim Rutherford left the ‘Canes and joined on with the Penguins. He then proceeded to trade Sutter once again, this time to Vancouver for forward Nick Bonino, young depth d-man Adam Clendening, and a 2nd round pick. Dumoulin has broken in with the Pens, registering 9 points in 43 games. Pouliot is currently with Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate after not receiving a roster spot out of training camp.

It is fair to say the Penguins, whether its been Shero or Rutherford, have maximized Jordan’s worth. They have aquired a lot of assets from one player. In that respect, it looks like the Hurricanes lost this deal. After three seasons with the ‘Canes, it is clear that Staal’s offensive output was inflated with the Penguins since he was playing on a third line behind Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Simply put, Jordan Staal has proven not to be worth what the Hurricanes paid for him.

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While, on the surface, Pittsburgh might have had the advantage, the trade totally altered the circumstances for both teams, and may have the Hurricanes benefiting indirectly. Since the 1st round pick (Pouliot) and Dumoulin were dealt, Carolina’s defensemen prospects were basically zero at that time. Sure, Carolina could have drafted a forward, but let’s assume the ‘Canes would have also picked Pouliot.Besides Ryan Murphy, the ‘Canes had no one relevant. In an effort to refill the pool, the ‘Canes drafted Jaccob Slavin and Trevor Carrick in the 4th round in the 2012 draft. They followed that up by drafting Brett Pesce in 2013. Slavin and Pesce have broken into the ‘Canes and performed great for rookie d-men. Carrick is with the Charlotte Checkers and is their leading scoring defenseman.

When comparing Pouliot and Dumoulin vs. Slavin and Pesce, we can see Carolina has probably found better future defensemen. Both ‘Canes players are younger than 24 year old Dumoulin and have more NHL experience than Pouliot. While Pouliot still has high upside, it hasn’t shown yet in the NHL. Brett Pesce, in less games played, already has more points than both Penguins blue liners. Slavin and Dumoulin look to be equal in their NHL careers so far, but Slavin is three years younger. The one negative is that their youth delayed the ‘Canes rebuild on the blue line. Still, it might have taken longer for them to get to the NHL, but Slavin and Pesce have been more impressive so far.

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That boost from Slavin and Pesce have been felt on the back end. Carolina looks to be trending upwards while Pittsburgh find themselves trending downwards. The loss of Jordan Staal hurt the Pens. They have not looked as dominant as they once were. Sutter’s time in Pittsburgh was just alright but not great. His best season of his career is still with the Hurricanes. It has become clear that the impact of Jordan was massive in Pittsburgh. The depth they had with Jordan slotted on the third line gave them an a huge match-up advantage. Rutherford has tried to replicate this with signing Phil Kessel. Yet, the Pens are lagging. Crosby is on a pace for his worst season and chemistry between the team just isn’t where it used to be. This has led to the recent firing their head coach.

It isn’t like the Hurricanes have seen improvement either. In fact, there is good argument they have decline since acquiring Staal. Jim Rutherford’s “Team Staal” vision was a clear failure, and have left scars on the organization they are still trying to mend. Specifically, Jordan Staal’s massive 10 year $60 million dollar contract. His play in his first three has clearly not warranted that kind of money, especially from an offensive perspective. Unfortunately, he hasn’t come through as much as people would like him to. In Carolina, he has seen much more responsibility, but hasn’t lived up to it.

Interestingly, Jim Rutherford’s involvement in both sides of this deal show why depth is so important in today’s NHL. Rutherford’s “Team Staal” with Semin team failed as soon as someone got injured. Case and point, Jordan Staal’s leg injury in 2014-2015. Now in Pittsburgh, he is trying it with Crosby, Malkin, and Kessel. Those fantastic players haven’t been able to cover up the depth issues the Pens have, much in the same way the Staal’s couldn’t in Carolina.

Now Eric Staal likely isn’t part of the plans in Carolina. Could that mean Jordan isn’t too? It’s hard to say. Jordan might still have a part to play in Ron Francis’ rebuild. Even at that price, having Jordan Staal in a Hurricanes uniform has been pretty welcomed. He plays hard every night and is defensively sound against some of the best in the league. Unlike his brother, he doesn’t draw anywhere near as much negative criticism. Offensively, he isn’t as dynamic as he was as a Penguin, but that is a product of the amazing depth Pittsburgh had. He still can be a dominant player.

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In his career at Carolina, Jordan Staal has been a bit underwhelming. He is a great player, but people’s expectations were probably too high for him to meet from the get go. Rutherford was probably right to make the trade in 2012 as it gave Carolina some much needed support down the middle. Jordan has had trouble finding good, consistent linemates, but remains a solid 2nd line center for the Hurricanes.

The ‘Canes certainly lost this trade on paper, but the Penguins didn’t exactly win either. The prospects the Pens received are developing far slower than anticipated, even being bypassed by younger ‘Canes like Slavin and Pesce. And since the trade, Pittsburgh has gone from Presidents Trophy contender to struggling for a playoff position the last few seasons. Even though the trade originally looked positive for both parties, the Jordan Staal trade has failed to have major positive influence on both Pittsburgh and Carolina.

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