Carolina Hurricanes GM Ron Francis and Rick Curran, the agent for Eric Staal, spoke on Tuesday in order to address the immediate and long-term future of the Hurricanes captain. According to Bob McKenzie of TSN, the conversation wasn't a particularly productive one.
"Carolina general manager Ron Francis and Staal's agent Rick Curran did talk on the phone on Tuesday, but basically deferred all matters relating to Staal's future to the new year," McKenzie wrote.
"Neither Francis nor Curran wanted to comment publicly, other than to indicate no doors have been opened or closed on either side and there's no timetable beyond 'talking again sometime in the new year.'"
Staal, a pending unrestricted free agent on July 1, is making $9.25 million this season in the final year of a deal that also carries an $8.25 million cap hit. He's 31 now and cracks and fissures have certainly begun to appear in Staal's once-rock solid game. He's still supremely talented, but he's nowhere near the player he once was. Still, he's the face of the Hurricanes franchise, both literally and figuratively. Can the team move forward without a player like Staal, who has been part of the bedrock of the organization, for 13 seasons now?
For the Hurricanes and Francis, the question becomes whether Staal is a player they want to keep around for another few years or if they'd be better served saving the money they'd spend on a new deal for him and recouping whatever assets they'd receive via a trade this year. For Staal and Curran, it's what's best financially for the big center and what's best, presumably, for his chances at winning another Stanley Cup.
Despite the fact that the Hurricanes currently find themselves at the bottom of the league standings, Staal has stated publicly that his preference is to remain in Carolina.
"I've been there a long time, it's a place definitely I hold deep in my heart," Staal told ESPN's Pierre LeBrun in January. "But wherever life takes you, you figure it out. For me, I haven't had those conversations."
Staal's contract carries a no-movement clause, so were Francis to decide that dealing him is the best move, it would have to mutually agreed up on by Staal and then a deal that worked for the Hurricanes, Staal and another team would then need to be hampered out.
There are almost too many moving parts to this deal to keep track. There's even Jordan Staal, Eric's brother and a player who came to Carolina in order to play alongside Eric, to consider. Would the team move him as well if Eric's shipped off to another hockey home?
Staal's game may not be where it once was and his cap hit may be hefty, but there's no doubting how good he'd look on certain rosters, especially as the stretch run up to and through the playoffs draws nearer.
The two sides have plenty of time to make determinations on Staal's situation - and that of Cam Ward, Jeff Skinner and whatever other players Francis is willing to move - ahead of the late February trade deadline.
But there's no denying that whatever path Francis chooses will alter the course of the franchise irrevocably.
