RALEIGH, N.C.—In the Carolina Hurricanes’ first five games this season, all victories, there was little for Jordan Staal to say other than, “Keep it going, boys.”
But the Canes now have encountered their first rough patch of the season, losing three of their past four games entering Thursday night’s date with Columbus. It’s a first test, so to speak, for Staal as team captain, as the player seated in the centre of the Canes’ locker room at PNC Arena.
“I’ve had to make sure the guys played the right way,” Staal said in an N&O interview this week. “Essentially that’s what it comes down to, that we haven’t being doing that as of late.
“There’s been some talk about it, and sometimes talk can be cheap. I’ve been trying to focus on making sure I’m playing the right way and leading that way, and making sure everyone is on the same page of getting that work ethic and the way we want to play every night.”
A year ago, it was Justin Williams’ team to lead. As captain, he was not one to bite his lip and stay silent if things were not going well. He could be poignant, and he could be tart. He was heard.
If Williams could be blunt and outspoken, and he was, Staal is viewed more as the strong, silent type.
“But I can’t say I’ve bitten my lip so far,” Staal said. “Everybody hasn’t gotten on the same page yet. Every day is a work in progress, and I’m working on being the best I can be for the team and doing the things I can to help. And leading the way I can to help us best.”
It was easier, if a bit strange, for Staal two seasons ago when former Canes coach Bill Peters made Staal and defenceman Justin Faulk co-captains. Shared leadership can be that way. It was easier with Williams as captain last year and Staal and Faulk serving as alternate captains.
“He, obviously, said the right things, whether it was being hard on guys or having that good feel for the room and knowing whose buttons to push and who needed a pat on the back,” Staal said of Williams.
But Williams, after leading the Canes to the Stanley Cup playoffs, is semi-retired, no longer in hockey, no longer a part of the team. Staal is the button-pusher and the back-patter.
“It’s a little different personalities, different guys with their own way to lead,” centre Sebastian Aho, who sits next to Staal in the Canes’ room, said in an N&O interview Wednesday. “First of all, both are great guys and everybody likes them and likes to hang out with them. They care of lot and both are great examples, on and off the ice.
“As a young player coming into the league you want players like that. You start picking up their habits. If you really want to learn, you can learn from guys like that. So there’s a few things different but both are great leaders who lead by example.”
Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour named Staal the captain on Sept. 29, saying the Canes needed “somebody driving the ship.” Of Staal he said, “He wears his heart on his sleeve, and he’s going to give you everything he’s got every night. That’s what a captain has to do.”
Staal had a goal and three assists in the Canes’ 5-0 start to the season. He did not have a point in the past four games, the only win coming against the Los Angeles Kings last week in the first of three games on the West Coast following a home-ice loss to Columbus.
Staal, 31, did notch a personal milestone against the Kings — his 900th career regular-season game. Winning the game 2-0 made it special, but losses to San Jose and Anaheim followed, with a sluggish start against the Ducks a bit unsettling.
“We just weren’t sharp in that game,” Brind’Amour said to the media this week. “I didn’t feel like we had a lot of zip to what we needed to do. It’s a matter of getting everyone on the same page every night.”
Williams, as captain, was Brind’Amour’s conduit to the team, an extension of the head coach. They’re close friends and former teammates who won a Stanley Cup for Carolina in 2006. Staal now is the coach-to-team messenger.
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“He’s been great,” Brind’Amour said during his Wednesday media session. “Again it’s leading by example. That’s the most important thing, and he does it every day. Every game, every practice. It’s exactly what you need. It’s been very good on that end.”
What needs to change for the Canes after losing three of four? The captain has the answers.
“We’ve had some good complete periods but it’s been sporadic,” Staal said. “Obviously, it’s about dialing that in and every team wants to do that and play that full 60 minutes. You’re going to give up chances and make mistakes. But that work ethic and the way we want to play and the structure we want to play in really hasn’t been there on a consistent basis and it’s shown.”
It has been a busy time for Staal. In addition to becoming the captain and beginning a new season, he and wife Heather have a baby boy, Henry, as the family continues to grow.
Staal, as sensible as they come as a professional athlete, said putting the “C” on his sweater is a responsibility he readily accepts but hasn’t brought about any other changes.
“My day to day doesn’t really change a whole lot with a different letter on my sweater,” he said. ‘What I bring to the table every day doesn’t change much. Beyond a couple of logistics things of what the team is going to do here and there … it hasn’t really changed a whole lot.”
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