RALEIGH, N.C. - Eric Staal has a lot to be proud of.
Eighteen years in the NHL, recording 1,063 points in 1,365 career games; six All-Star nominations, including MVP honors in 2008; and one of just 30 hockey players all-time to join the exclusive Triple Gold Club - winners of the Stanley Cup, Olympic gold and IIHF Men's World Championship gold in their career.
Those figures alone paint a picture of one of the game's greats, a special talent who enjoyed a special career. But in the context of the Carolina Hurricanes, he's nothing short of a legend, a talismanic figure whose name could be written on the very cover of the team's history book.
Staal ranks first in Canes history (since relocation) in seven different categories: goals (322), assists (453), points (775), games played (909), power-play goals (105), power-play points (252) and hat tricks (13). He's one of just two players in team history to be named to one of the NHL's end-of-season All-Star teams, and, in the 27 seasons since the Hurricanes relocated to North Carolina, he's the only member of the team to record 100 points in a single season.
His impact on the ice was, and is, palpable. He meant everything to a budding franchise still trying to find its footing in a city that had never held a major-league professional sports team before, becoming its first homegrown star as the Hurricanes captured the Stanley Cup in just his third pro season.
But his legacy is built on more than goals, points and even championships. It's also built on a generation of fans who fell in love with the game of hockey, thanks to him.