Veteran forward Paul Stastny signs with Carolina Hurricanes with sights set on winning
Paul Stastny might have had another team willing to pay him more money to play hockey this season than the Carolina Hurricanes.
He’s a veteran center who has played more than 1,000 games in the NHL, has 800 points and has proven to be durable enough. He had 21 goals with the Winnipeg Jets last season and still has the willingness to go into the “hard areas” near the net that some players avoid. He was marketable, had other teams interested.
One thing, as much as anything, sold him on the Hurricanes, who signed him Tuesday to a one-year, $1.5 million free-agent contract.
“Winning,” Stastny said Tuesday on a media call. “The chance to win, I think, is what everyone wants. It’s so hard. At the start of the year there are 20 teams that think they have a chance of winning. ...
“I’ve been fortunate and I’ve played long enough that it’s not about the dollars and cents.”
Stastny, 36, has played 16 seasons in the NHL and been on some good teams. He has not won a Stanley Cup but believes the Hurricanes could be on the cusp of winning one.
“They have a good mix of younger players coming into their own and a good mix of veterans,” he said. “There’s a coach who understands how to win.”
Rod Brind’Amour has coached the Canes into the playoffs the past four season. Brind’Amour once played against Stastny when Stastny was with the Colorado Avalanche and Brind’Amour near the end of his playing career with Carolina. Now, he’ll coach him.
Odds are, that was another selling point for the Canes – playing for Brind’Amour.
“It’s just honesty,” Stastny said during a media call. “I think he’s a straight shooter. I’ve heard a lot of things. Very personable, where he gets to know those guys on and off the ice. That goes a long way.
“And the way that team plays. They play that hard, two-way, aggressive, hunt-the-puck type of game that Rod was so successful at in his career. He kind of built that identity with that team. It starts from him and he knows what it takes to be successful and the team feeds off that and believes and trusts his message.”
The Canes’ need for another forward intensified when Max Pacioretty tore his right Achilles tendon in off-ice training earlier this month. Losing second-line center Vincent Trocheck in free agency in July also left a void, given Trocheck’s experience and grit.
Stastny and Pacioretty played together for two seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights, losing in the Western Conference finals during the 2020 “bubble” playoffs brought about by pandemic restrictions. The two remain tight friends – Stastny said they talk daily.
“I felt bad for him because I’m really close to him and I know how hard he works and I know how hungry he is and how motivated he is,” Stastny said. “You take a step back and it could be a blessing in disguise. You never know, time will tell. Maybe it will be good for him to kind of re-set a little bit, and when he does come in he’ll be that much more hungry, that much more fresh, in the middle of the season when everybody is kind of lagging a little bit.”
As for transitioning to a new team, Stastny noted hockey players are “cut from the same cloth” and accommodating, and expects the same treatment with the Canes.
Stastny grew up around the sport and has been in many a locker room through the years. His father, Peter, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame after his high-scoring career with the Quebec Nordiques, New Jersey Devils and St. Louis Blues.
Paul Stastny, who was born in Quebec City, spent eight years with Colorado, four with St. Louis, two with Vegas and three with the Jets. He’s still waiting to hold up the Stanley Cup in victory — and would earn a $500,000 bonus if he does it this season with Carolina, according to CapFriendly.com.
“I’ve been fortunate to play for good teams and when you come close you realize how hard it is,” he said. “Maybe it will never come and that’s all right. But as long as you give yourself a chance …”
This story was originally published August 24, 2022 at 10:14 AM.
