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Bond of brothers: Staal siblings share Cup chase
- Updated: April 22, 2016
6:06 PM ET
PITTSBURGH — It won’t be long now until things likely go back to the way they were — perhaps as early as Saturday afternoon. Three NHL siblings crossing paths only when the vagaries of the schedule deem it will be so.
But what a time it’s been these past few years for the Staal family. What a chance to not just live the dream but to share it amongst family.
What a time for Eric Staal, who had the opportunity to play alongside his brother Jordan in Carolina after Jordan was dealt there by the Pittsburgh Penguins at the 2012 draft.
The ‘Canes could never quite get things right, though, and so as the final year of Eric’s contract began to ebb away he agreed in late February to a trade that would allow him to join another brother, Marc, with the New York Rangers.
For Eric, 31, this spring has been a long-awaited whetting of the playoff whistle — or re-whetting. He hadn’t been in a playoff game since the fourth game of the 2009 Eastern Conference finals, when Jordan and the Penguins swept Carolina en route to a Stanley Cup.
Eric laments that he and Jordan never got to experience the postseason rush as teammates — only as opponents — just as Jordan and Marc clashed in playoff series between the Penguins and Rangers.
Now Marc, 29, and Eric are hoping to keep their playoff hopes alive and enjoying the unique opportunity to share the playoff ride against that same Pittsburgh team.
“As a kid, you dream about being in the NHL,” Eric said. “For us, being in the NHL as long as we have, the opportunity to play together and the opportunity to play in big games together, it’s pretty special. There’s no other way to describe it. It’s special.”
What do they say about not choosing your family? Sounds like the Staals would choose each other any day.
“We’re really close,” Eric said. “We have been all the time. I know some people aren’t. But we are. And it’s special to compete nightly together, especially in huge games, important games.”
When Eric spent the day with the Stanley Cup in the summer of 2006 after the ‘Canes won the first championship following the 2004-05 lockout, his brothers — including the youngest, Jared, a second-round pick of the Phoenix Coyotes in 2008 who played 64 games in the ECHL this season — were all on hand, of course. But they …
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