Eric Craig Staal is a Canadian ice hockey professional who is currently playing as an unrestricted free agent in the National Hockey League. Born on October 29, 1984, he was drafted as the 2nd overall pick of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes. Throughout his NHL career, he has shown his strengths and played with multiple teams like the Carolina Hurricanes, New York Rangers, Minnesota Wild, Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens and the Florida Panthers.
Staal was born to parents Henry and Linda Staal. The Staal family are Dutch immigrants, coming from the Netherlands. Eric Staal is the eldest sibling among his three younger brothers, two of whom still play in the NHL. He developed an interest in hockey at the age of four. Staal was inspired by hockey players like Joe Sakic and Wayne Gretzky growing up.
Eric Staal started his hockey journey in his hometown Thunder Bay, Ontario and played minor hockey with the Thunder Bay Kings organization. He led his Bantam team to the All-Ontario Championship in 1999-2000. Later he joined the Ontario Hockey League with the Peterborough Petes in 2000, finishing his debut season with an impressive score of 49 points. In his draft year, he was on the CHL First All-Star Team and OHL Second All-Star Team. Staal also played in the CHL Top Prospects Game where he contributed one assist.
Eric Staal's Contract
The 39-year-old Canadian ice hockey professional is playing as an unrestricted free agent in the National Hockey League. He was drafted in 2003 and since then he has signed six contracts in his career with a total value of $89,000,000 and his estimated NHL career earning is $87,613,414. Staal has played 18 seasons and contributed 1063 points in 1365 regular season games. Additionally, he scored 64 points in 104 playoff games. He played the 2022-2023 season with the Florida Panthers in that season Staal earned $750,000 as a salary.
Eric Staal's NHL Journey
Eric Staal is an ice hockey centre with a remarkable NHL career that started in 2003 with the Carolina Hurricanes. He was drafted 2nd overall in the NHL Entry Draft. He even participated in the YoungStar Game during the 2004 NHL All-Star festivities.
2005-06 was Staal's highlight season where he contributed his career-high 100 points and also contributed to the 2006 Stanley Cup victory with the Carolina Hurricanes. Staal finished fourth in voting for the Hart Memorial Trophy and the same year he signed a three-year extension contract with the Hurricanes and has made multiple appearances in the NHL All-Star Game since then.
In 2010, he became the captain of the Hurricanes and was named in the NHL All-Star Game. In 2016, he was traded to the New York Rangers but later he decided to join the Minnesota Wild where he achieved an impressive score of 42 goals in the 2017-18 season. In 2020, he was traded to the Buffalo Sabres and then moved to the Montreal Canadiens in 2021. In 2022, he joined the Florida Panthers as a free agent and finished the season with 14 goals and 29 points. He is currently a free agent.
FAQs
A. Eric Staal is playing this season as a free agent and his last salary was $750,000 from the Florida Panthers for the 2022-2023 season where he finished with 14 goals.
A. Staal won the Stanley Cup in 2006 with the Carolina Hurricanes.
A. Eric Staal has three younger brothers. Two of them are still playing, those are Jordan and Marc Staal.
A. Staal is playing as an unrestricted free agent as of now and his current contract is unknown.
A. Eric Staal has earned an estimated amount of $87,613,414 from his NHL career.
