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All things Staal

I have no idea how the guys in the locker room respond to EStaal, how he gets along with the coaches and front office. I have no idea how players on other teams view him or their opinion of him. I suspect there must be something akin to respect or he would not have succeeded as he has. The one thing I thought Kirk Muller did for Staal was try and teach him about his on ice demeanor and how to look like a captain. However, as the season went from hell to a hand basket and it was clear that the team was firmly dedicated to the Chinese Fire Drill as their system, Staal resorted to that look of sour grapes/pouting/frustration and took lazy play penalty after lazy play penalty. That's my frustration with Staal. It's the time he was skating back to the bench and was well within his right to play a puck (broken stick) and he didn't even kick the puck-- that decision landed back in our net.
 
Great comments, albeit we've gone through all of this before. Honestly, if they could only infuse a little bit of 'Martin St. Louis fire' into Eric Staal - he'd be fantastic. I see it a little differently... I think Eric's biggest weakness is a lack of ambition/commitment, i.e. = no fire. Without that ambition, you can't really expect anything out of the guy, in any facet. He needs to play, perform and respond LIKE he WANTS to be the leader on this club. Forget about comparing this guy to RF, Brind'Amour etc... I want Eric to SHOW us HIS version of leadership - crap - for once. I don't think we've seen that yet, captain's crest and title aside.

Will he ever grow into a leader that this organization was hoping he would? Honestly, I think we are at a crossroads. For Eric himself, he needs to put up, deliver - and then some. No more excuses. Commit to DO what NEEDS to be done to become THE Carolina Hurricanes captain and leader, on and off the ice.

We're waiting.
 
SlapShots said:
I have no idea how the guys in the locker room respond to EStaal, how he gets along with the coaches and front office. I have no idea how players on other teams view him or their opinion of him.
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This

And personally, I'm going to jump out of any conversation from here out that wanders into the territory of his leadership skills or motivation.

In large part, that's why I was hoping they'd trade Staal away. To get a fresh re-set on this exact subject.
 
jeffbear said:
This

And personally, I'm going to jump out of any conversation from here out that wanders into the territory of his leadership skills or motivation.

In large part, that's why I was hoping they'd trade Staal away. To get a fresh re-set on this exact subject.
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Me too. Let's hope #12 proves everyone wrong
 
JamesNorthern said:
Me too. Let's hope #12 proves everyone wrong
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The thing I truly, deeply want to avoid is a game to game referendum on his performance on the leadership front. Seriously ... we won't EVER know enough to fill in those gaps so it's bloody pointless.
 
The funny thing about leadership conversations is they only occur when a team continues to lose or a player continues to under perform relative to his contract. If the Canes have been making the playoffs consistently the past years and Eric was averaging 85+ points per season these threads would not exist. Leadership at the end of the day is really about winning and performing up to expectations.

None of us knows what goes on in the locker room (and I honestly shouldn't care as I have more important things to focus on) but I do care if the Canes are winning and playing to the best of their ability. The Canes haven't won and Eric hasn't put up numbers consistent with his pay.....SO that means he is a bad leader. Flawed logic....probably, but I can live with it.

At the end of the day I agree with JB and others and wish he was traded in the off-season. Just for the fact that the focus of the Canes (and fans) would be on a fresh start versus tired themes such as this. I don't see Eric turning a new leaf at age of 30 and am not holding my breath for an extended change from him.
 
SlapShots said:
Staal resorted to that look of sour grapes/pouting/frustration and took lazy play penalty after lazy play penalty. That's my frustration with Staal. It's the time he was skating back to the bench and was well within his right to play a puck (broken stick) and he didn't even kick the puck-- that decision landed back in our net.
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That's exactly what bothers me the most about #12 too! The body language and undiscipline,lazy play is what really stands out when he is struggling. Every player will have dry spells, but as a captain and leader you have to stay clear of that stuff, your teammates see it, the fans see it, the coaches see it and most of the best leaders that ever played the game hardly ever sulked and pouted and carried on like Eric does.
 
Agreed...even when the scoring numbers are not there, Eric still can impact the game in a positive way. I think he is too easily frustrated and when Eric Staal is out there sulking, not hustling, and losing his discipline it has a filter down effect across the team. I think we will still be frustrated if Eric isn't out there scoring, but I would feel a lot less frustrated if when the scoring isn't there I still could see Eric impacting the game positively.
 
Dang it. I am so ready for this season to start so we get some new data points to speculate on.
 
I do believe the canes, including and especially the Staals, will have more community involvement and more visibility.
 
I remember this from a few years ago when the Canes players delivered season tickets - http://video.hurricanes.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=47038 ...it was a nice touch. Do they still do this? If so, they do a crap job of publicizing it.

In my twitter/other media feeds the past week I have begun seeing other teams perform their yearly deliveries via players. It is a good idea the Canes should follow to at least get a local news cycle leading up to the season. Creating awareness and good will locally can't hurt them.....although many times it seems a foreign concept to the organization.
 
Yea, i think that is a cool touch. Here's my contribution for today.
Television spot: Alexander Semin is delivering some tickets to a STHer and happens upon a kids roller hockey net/stick in the driveway. He slams about wicked 20 shots into the net while the family is inside looking out the window in awe. To your point, show some creativity for gosh sakes folks.
Oh well back to my day job. :)


CarolinaPen said:
I remember this from a few years ago when the Canes players delivered season tickets - http://video.hurricanes.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=47038 ...it was a nice touch. Do they still do this? If so, they do a crap job of publicizing it.

In my twitter/other media feeds the past week I have begun seeing other teams perform their yearly deliveries via players. It is a good idea the Canes should follow to at least get a local news cycle leading up to the season. Creating awareness and good will locally can't hurt them.....although many times it seems a foreign concept to the organization.
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HurryCanes said:
Yea, i think that is a cool touch. Here's my contribution for today.
Television spot: Alexander Semin is delivering some tickets to a STHer and happens upon a kids roller hockey net/stick in the driveway. He slams about wicked 20 shots into the net while the family is inside looking out the window in awe. To your point, show some creativity for gosh sakes folks.
Oh well back to my day job. :)
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You left out the part about a cigarette dangling from Semin's mouth as he takes the shots...I want Semin to pull a Jimmy Leyland and start sneaking smokes on the bench in between whistles of a game!
 
I am still holding out hope that Staal is traded at some point by next year. The recent 4 game win string only solidifies my belief. The team is winning due to the youth movement.... Trading Staal for more assets only helps to speed this along. The team is looking good on the youth front, I say go all in.
 
SlapShots said:
Not sure where to put this, so:

Doug MacLean: These guys [big centermen] are hard to find in the NHL. There’s a handful of them in the league. And then we keep hearing Eric Staal’s on the block. Come on, that’s B.S., right?

Francis: Absolutely.

http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/...rows-cold-water-on-staal-sekera-trade-rumors/
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Well ... it's this kind of stuff that keeps me from fully getting behind Francis as a GM. I just don't get why he's not moving on with a roster re-build, and part number one would be Eric Staal. Of our big contract guys he's the one who still has some market value and if we keep sitting on our hands his craptastic level of play will just keep eroding the potential return we get for the guy.

Seriously .... he's barely helping you now, so what the living heck do you lose if you move him for some younger talent? If Ronnie keeps up with the snail's pace rebuild, by the time he's done Eric will be too danged old to matter anyway.
 
Come trade deadline time Francis may be singing a different tune, I still firmly believe that Eric could get moved for a package of young talent before he signs any sort of long term extension here.
 
Don't play poker with this man. :sarcasm

I'm also on the break up Eric into two or three players wagon. Myriad of reasons. No need to rehash here.

But just how that play unfolds...or not...is part of the "I cannot look away" fan fascination I have with this season.

I've seen some doozies. And have a feeling this one is going to be yet another.
 
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