The trade deadline is tomorrow, but deals have been happening for the past week. One of the biggest trade deadline names out there this year was Eric Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes. He has now officially been traded and will get to compete for the Stanley Cup alongside his younger brother, Marc Staal, with the New York Rangers.
From One Brother to Another
Eric has been playing with his other brother Jordan Staal in Carolina for the past four seasons. Jordan joined the Hurricanes the summer of 2012. Eric has been a Hurricane since he was drafted in 2003 as the second overall pick. Eric officially will be leaving Carolina and headed to New York to play with Marc. It must be a bittersweet feeling for Eric, who will be leaving the only NHL team he's ever known. Although he's leaving Jordan and his only NHL franchise behind, where he won a Stanley Cup in 2006, he will be joining a cup contender in New York with Marc. Out of the Staal brothers that are in the NHL, Marc is the only one who hasn't won a cup. Eric could be the missing piece that will help Marc finally accomplish the feat that two of his brothers were able to accomplish.
The fourth brother, Jared Staal, is playing for the Washington Capitals' ECHL affiliate, the South Carolina Stingrays. Jared may never become an NHL regular and has only played two games in the NHL at this point in his career. Luckily for him and the rest of his family, one of those games involved getting to start on the same line as Jordan and Eric. That must have been one of the biggest highlights for all of their hockey careers and a proud moment for the Staal parents.
Trade Package
In exchange for Eric, the Rangers had to give up two second round picks and a forward prospect, Aleksi Saarela. One of the picks is in this year's draft with the other pick being in 2017. Saarela was a third round pick back in 2015 and is currently playing in the Finnish elite league, SM-Liiga. He has 31 points in 46 games this season. It should also be noted that the Hurricanes will be retaining half of Eric's $9.25 million salary.
This trade immediately boosts a good Rangers team and should provide a nice boost for them down the stretch. The Rangers ultimately go as far as Henrik Lundqvist can take them, but having a good supporting cast with the addition of Eric will only help them. This trade may also take some of the load off of Rick Nash, who has been critiqued more than anyone on the Rangers. Eric will now have officially played with all three of his brothers at the NHL level.