NEW YORK – Before making the emotional decision to waive a no-trade clause and leave his longtime NHL home, Eric Staal was watching.
Watching his contemporaries chase glory every spring. Watching the Stanley Cup playoffs a long way away from where the games were actually being played.
“Too much, probably,” he admits now.
Barely a night went by the last six years where he didn’t flip on a game. He would often watch his brother Marc make a run with the New York Rangers – the team Eric joined on Feb. 28 after spending more than a decade with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Staal has had a unique taste of playoff hockey. He won the Stanley Cup as a 21-year-old in 2006 and was part of a team that reached the Eastern Conference final in 2009. Other than that, nothing.
Twice the Hurricanes went down to the final weekend of the season and missed qualifying.
“It was honestly more and more frustrating every season because of that,” said Staal. “Because you know what it is. I’ve experienced it, I’ve been there, I’ve won. I know the feelings and when you’re constantly missing it can wear on you and it’s tough.
“It’s tough watching other guys and other teams and guys that you know well. Guys you compete against all season long getting to enjoy it and you’re watching. It’s tough.”
There might not be another player savouring the current tournament as much as Staal. He had goosebumps after taking the ice for Game 1 against the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier this week – “It was awesome,” he said – and the thought of going home to play Game 3 at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday has him positively giddy.
It helps explain why he was willing to leave behind the comfort of the Hurricanes organization at this stage of his life.
That was an emotional decision. A difficult decision. It’s taken some time to figure out where he fits with the Rangers.
“I was there for so long and things were done differently,” said Staal. “It’s not like I’m going to a mediocre team. I’m going to a 100-point team, a team that made it to the conference final (last year). I’m not coming here to bump someone from first-line centre, it’s about coming here to try and fit and add to an already-good team.
“It took a little time just to adjust system-wise; they play a lot different than we did in Carolina the last two years, but I get it now. I understand how we’re wanting to play. It’s been a lot better.”
He falls in behind Derek Stepan and Derick Brassard on the depth chart. In New York, Staal is a third-liner who plays a bit on both sides of the specialty teams and isn’t counted on to produce offence the same way he once was.
There is plenty of value to that role, especially through the grind of a playoff series. He doesn’t need to be a game-breaker, but he might end up breaking open a big game.
“I think he’s right where we need him to be,” said Rangers coach Alain Vigneault. “He’s very vocal being a former captain. He’s brought the right leadership to help out our group … I think he’s fit in nicely; I knew it was going to take some time.
“But that big body can wear down the opposition in a seven-game series and that’s what is going to continue to happen here.”
How long Staal remains a member of the Rangers is unclear. The 31-year-old becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer and New York is a team that always operates close to the salary cap.
There simply might not be a long-term fit.
But those are concerns for another day. The allure of chasing a second Stanley Cup was so strong that Staal was willing to take a leap into the great unknown. And now that he’s here, he’s trying to make the most of the experience.
“It’s everything; it’s playoffs,” said Staal. “Every seat’s filled and everybody’s excited. Every moment matters – not that it doesn’t in the regular season, but it’s a different feeling, it’s a different vibe. A different energy for everybody in the building and everybody that’s watching.
“Those are moments you want to be a part of and you want to play and you want to be out there. Things I’ve missed.”
Finally back in the thick of the action, he’s got a much better vantage point to watch from now.
