Staal on verge of another Stanley Cup win after 17-year wait

LAS VEGAS -- Jordan Staal has waited 17 years for this moment.

It was 2009 when he hoisted the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was 20 then, in his third NHL season. Now 37, in his 14th season with the Carolina Hurricanes and 20th in the NHL, he finally has a chance to do it again -- and maybe win the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Carolina Hurricanes can clinch with a victory against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, SN, TVAS, CBC). Their captain has scored in each game against Vegas and leads the series with six goals, drawing attention to his all-around contributions.

“What’s driving him is just that opportunity to do something that he hasn’t done since he was 20 years old, knowing the fact that these opportunities don’t come along very often and this is his best chance or could potentially be his best chance,” said Justin Williams, who won the Cup with the Hurricanes in 2006 and the Los Angeles Kings in 2012 and 2014; won the Conn Smythe in 2014; and played with Staal in Carolina from 2017-20. “You always think you are going to be back there soon.”

Staal had no idea how long it would take for him to get back here. If he wins the Cup, he will set the NHL record for the longest wait between championships.

After 2009, the Penguins won one series over the next three seasons. On June 22, 2012, Pittsburgh traded Staal to Carolina, where he joined his brother Eric, who had won the Cup with the Hurricanes in 2006 and become their captain in 2010.

In each of Jordan’s first six seasons in Carolina, the Hurricanes missed the playoffs, and amid that stretch, they traded Eric to the New York Rangers on Feb. 28, 2016. Still, Jordan stayed and helped build a winning culture. The Hurricanes have made the playoffs the past eight seasons, advancing as far as the Eastern Conference Final in 2019, 2023 and 2025.

Staal served as co-captain with Justin Faulk in 2017-18 and has worn the “C” exclusively since 2019. He ranks first in seasons (14) and games (1,079) in the regular season and playoffs combined for the franchise since the Hartford Whalers moved to Carolina in 1997.

Teammate Jordan Martinook called Staal’s determination “something to be seen.”

“Obviously, I’ve talked to him,” Martinook said. “It took him 17 years to get back to this position, and I think obviously him winning it before and knowing how special it is and how much he wants it for us (is) showing in his play. Obviously, he’s been incredible in every aspect of the game.”

Staal set the tone for the playoffs by fighting Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk off the opening draw of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round. Best known as a defensive center, he has faced tough matchups night after night and held his opposing centers without a goal. He has taken 392 face-offs, most in the playoffs, and won 56.4 percent of them.

He entered the Cup Final with two goals in 13 games, but now he has eight in 18 games, fifth in the playoffs.

“It’s been incredible to watch,” teammate Seth Jarvis said. “Super happy to be a part of it. To see him have this kind of success, and see him do all those other things but also add the goal scoring he’s had, is awesome.”

It could earn him the Conn Smythe, even though he has only 12 points. Vegas forward Mitch Marner leads the playoffs with 29 points (10 goals, 19 assists) in 21 games, seven more than anyone else. Jackson Blake and Taylor Hall are tied for the Carolina lead with 18 points (six goals, 12 assists) each.

“I think we’re talking about him because he’s scoring some goals, but if you take the goals away, it’d be the same impact,” said Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour, who captained the Hurricanes when they won the Cup in 2006. “He’s just added that extra element, but his game hasn’t changed at all.”

Staal said he isn’t handling things much differently in this situation than he did 17 years ago.

“Just trying to win the game,” he said. “It’s just a mindset of stepping in and, once the game the starts, just focusing on all the little things that we’ve done to get here and executing it as best you can and finding ways to get a win.”

Was he this mature then?

“Probably not,” he said. “But I think I had a group around me and a team that was rolling very similar to what we’ve got here, and it felt very similar.”

Whenever a team is on the verge of a championship, distractions can be an issue -- ticket requests and travel plans for family and friends, dreams of glory dancing in players’ heads. The Hurricanes have a captain who appreciates this chance and doesn’t want to waste it.

“I don’t worry about the stuff that you would think we have to worry about,” Brind’Amour said. “I know it’s taken care of. … He gets the group, I think, dialed in on all that stuff all the time. From the coach’s perspective, that makes my job so easy. I don’t really have to be going around wondering kind of where everyone’s heads are. That’s the kind of guy he is.”

NHL.com senior writer Tom Gulitti contributed to this report