Jordan Staal looks to score more goals for Canes

For Jordan Staal, any game against the Pittsburgh Penguins is a reminder of what once was and what Staal may one day be for the Carolina Hurricanes.

So it will be again Friday, when the Canes host the Pens at PNC Arena, albeit in a final preseason game.

Staal scored 29 goals for the Penguins in 2006-07 as an 18-year-old rookie center, including an impressive seven short-handed. He had 25 goals in 62 games in the 2011-2012 season and had two other seasons in Pittsburgh when he scored 20 or more.

And he won, a lot. The Pens were in the playoffs each year, and Staal was an integral part of Pittsburgh’s Stanley Cup run in 2009.

That hasn’t been the case since Staal was traded to the Hurricanes in June 2012, partly because of injury and partly circumstance. The 2012-13 season was abbreviated by the NHL lockout, and Staal missed 35 games last season with a broken leg.

In his only full season with Carolina, 2013-2014, he had 15 goals and 25 assists in 82 games. Those weren’t the offensive numbers anyone, including Staal, expected when the trade was made and he soon was signed to a 10-year, $60 million contract extension.

“He’s not one of those natural (scorers) where the puck just seems to find its way to the back of the net,” said Canes captain Eric Staal, Jordan’s oldest brother. “But he can score. He scored almost 30 at 18 years old. He’s got it in him.”

Jordan Staal would like to think so. On a team that was goal-starved most of last season, he realizes the need to be a bigger point producer.

“It’s there,” he said. “It’s just a matter of consistency and being willing to create offense by doing it the right way. I think for the most part in previous years I’ve leaned on the defensive part, but I think this year with the players we have, there will be more chance to create offense and be smart about it.”

Staal, 27, said at times he has felt snake-bit in the offensive zone. Good chances turn into near-misses. Pucks bang off the post or cross-bar.

“That’s been going on my whole life,” Staal said, smiling.

“But it is what it is. Hopefully it will change this year.”

No one will base Staal’s value to the team solely on his point production. He’s the Canes’ biggest player at 6-foot-4, 220 pounds and its best checking center. He can be used on the power play and penalty kill and is effective at both.

“He’s an important player, regardless, because he’s so big and strong,” Eric Staal said. “He’s really difficult to play against.”

Canes coach Bill Peters this week put wingers Nathan Gerbe and Riley Nash on Jordan Staal’s line, using it Wednesday in the 4-3 win over the Washington Capitals, and Staal likes the feel of it.

“Gerbs is more of a straight up and down, hardworking player,” he said. “You know you’re going to get all that he has every night, and he’ll be a guy who hounds the puck hard and creates turnovers from his tenacious forecheck.

“He’s a smart player when he has the puck, as well. He makes plays and usually makes the right one.”

Nash has been used mostly at center with the Canes but was moved to the wing this week.

“Nasher is a very smart player who always seems to be in the right position,” Staal said. “He has great hands, and he finds players in those little spots that create offense and adds a dynamic to our line.”

Jordan and Eric Staal spent part of this summer training with Gerbe. They also did it last year, only to have Eric Staal suffer a muscle injury late in the summer that required minor surgery. Then Jordan went down with the broken leg in the Canes’ second preseason game.

Returning to the lineup Dec. 29, Jordan Staal finished the season with six goals – one on the power play – and 18 assists in 46 games.

“Last year was tough with that injury,” Gerbe said of Jordan Staal. “But he looks good, he looks in great shape and ready to roll.”

In his last season in Pittsburgh, Staal scored 17 even-strength goals, five on the power play and three short-handed. He also converted 16.8 percent of his shots.

“Those were some good years for myself, obviously,” Staal said. “I’ve been searching for a few of those years of late, and I’d like to contribute that way.

“There’s obviously a lot more to my game than that, but you always want to do that, especially on a team that has been struggling offensively.”

Is this the year it changes for Staal, when pucks hit iron but go in the net, when No. 11 is good for 20-plus goals for the Canes?

“It’s not unreasonable,” Peters said. “He’s got to get some power-play offense and generate some goals there to get to 20, but that’s not unrealistic.”

This story was originally published October 1, 2015 at 3:26 PM with the headline "Jordan Staal looks to score more goals for Canes."