Hurricanes' Staal nominated for 2018 Masterton Trophy

Carolina Hurricanes center Jordan Staal, who has dealt with personal heartbreak this season while maintaining professionalism on the ice, has been nominated for the 2018 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.

The annual award, decided by a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. is given to the player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. It is named for the only player in NHL history to die because of injuries suffered in a game.

Staal was nominated by the Carolina chapter of the PHWA after enduring a season in which he and his wife, Heather, lost their infant daughter, Hannah, because of a terminal birth defect. Staal took a personal leave from the team in February, missing three games, but played much of the season with the knowledge the baby likely would not survive because of the defect.

“The struggles he and his family have gone through, you wouldn’t wish that upon anyone,” Canes forward Derek Ryan said. “I think he’s handled that with class and handled it with professionalism.

“I think he’s shown leadership even going through a hard time. I think it’s awesome to see someone like that be recognized for going through something like that and showing us how to be a great human being.”

Ryan was the Hurricanes’ Masterton nominee a year ago and one of the three finalists, being invited with his family to attend the NHL Awards ceremony in Las Vegas. Goalie Craig Anderson of the Ottawa Senators was the 2017 recipient.

Ryan’s nomination came as a result of a long hockey journey that took from him being undrafted by NHL teams to college hockey, to Austria and Sweden, to the American Hockey League and finally to the Hurricanes. He made his NHL debut at age 29.

At 29, Staal has played 837 career regular-season games and won a Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009. Traded to the Hurricanes in June 2012, he now has played 406 games in his six seasons for Carolina and been among their most versatile players, often a 6-foot-4, 220-pound tower of strength for the Canes.

“He does it all,” Canes forward Lee Stempniak said. “He’s naturally gifted with that ability and with that size and he works with it. He’s someone you appreciate more and more, the more you see him play.”

Someone who plays hard but fair, Staal has displayed sportsmanship during his career and is one of the more respected players in the league.

“He plays a lot of minutes, a lot of hard minutes, and he plays them well,” Canes forward Jeff Skinner said.

One frustration for Staal has been the inability to lift the Canes back into the Stanley Cup playoffs. Carolina has not been a part of postseason since 2009 and should miss the playoffs for a ninth straight season.

“There’s definitely times when it can get the best of you, the years of not being in the playoffs,” Staal said. “It can build up. “But in the end there’s so much to be thankful for, so much I appreciate about this game and love about this game. Sometimes it’s hard to see but it always comes through in the end.”

Hannah’s death took a lot of joy out of the season. Hannah’s condition was something Staal internalized and kept private, telling few of his teammates or others in the organization.

After Hannah’s death, Staal’s teammates rallied around him, as Ryan said trying to make the locker room a “getaway from his struggles.” They became a part of the Staals’ large support group that includes his two NHL-playing brothers, Eric and Marc.

“It puts things in perspective,” Skinner said. “You have to admire people who go through tough times and show that toughness, that mental toughness, that perseverance.”

This story was originally published March 27, 2018 at 8:01 AM with the headline "Hurricanes' Staal nominated for 2018 Masterton Trophy."