Panthers center Staal talks Stanley Cup Final on 'NHL @TheRink' podcast

Eric Staal will be playing in the Stanley Cup Final and Keith Jones will be calling it for TNT, his swansong as a broadcaster before he dives into his new job as the Philadelphia Flyers president of hockey operations.

Both Staal, a center for the Florida Panthers, and Jones joined this week's episode of the "NHL @TheRink" podcast to preview the Cup Final, talk about how they got to this point and what lies ahead as well.

Staal spoke to co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke about his journey from being out of the NHL last season to going to the Panthers on a professional tryout (PTO) to getting another chance to win the Stanley Cup for the second time in his 18-season NHL career.

Staal talked about being humbled by having to try out to make a hockey team at the age of 37 at the time, despite playing more than 1,400 games in the NHL between the regular season and playoffs. He raved about his opportunity with Florida, the chance to win the Stanley Cup with his brother, Panthers defenseman Marc Staal, and stressed his excitement level for Game 1 at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; TNT, TBS, truTV, CBC, SN, TVAS).

The conversation with Jones initially was focused on how he got to his new job with the Flyers, why they were the only team he'd leave broadcasting to work for, the vision he has for them and how the experiences he's had and relationships he's forged as a broadcaster will benefit him as an NHL executive.

Jones also previewed the Stanley Cup Final, discussing Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and forward Matthew Tkachuk, Golden Knights center Jack Eichel and goalie Adin Hill, Vegas' impressive defense group and much more.

In addition, Rosen and Roarke discussed some of the top storylines going into the Stanley Cup Final and some of the news around the NHL, including Brad Treliving being named general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Andrew Brunette becoming the new coach of the Nashville Predators. They also gave their Stanley Cup Final predictions.

The "NHL @TheRink"podcast is free and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms. It is also available on NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts and the NHL app.

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Listen: New episode of NHL @TheRink