Eric Staal acknowledges inevitability of trade speculation as Hurricanes falter

As the Carolina Hurricanes drop lower in the NHL standings, captain Eric Staal finds himself increasingly named as a potential trade target in advance of the March 2 deadline.

For his part, Staal acknowledges the trade winds, but appears unaffected by them.

"That’s part of it with where we are in the standings, and what our team record is, it’s going to be inevitable. That’s just the way it is", Staal said Monday, according to Pierre LeBrun of ESPN. 

"Not really focused on it, to be honest, right now," Staal continued. "I have a no-movement (clause) in my contract and, as of right now, no one has asked me whether I’d be willing to move it or not. My focus is on what we have here and helping this team take steps in the right direction."

Staal, who has played each of his 810 career games with the Hurricanes, has recorded 15 goals and 13 assists in 41 games this season. His numbers are down, but he's enjoying playing on a line with brother Jordan, whose presence in the lineup gives general manager Ron Francis cause to sit back and consider exactly what kind of team he has these days.

"Since we’ve had our lineup together, it’s been pretty good," Francis told LeBrun, referencing, in part, the fact that Jordan missed the majority of the season to date with a fractured fibula. " ... That’s the challenge: Is our team good enough with the healthy pieces back in to overcome some of those one-goal losses or do we have to address that in a different fashion?"

Central to that line of questioning will be the future of Eric Staal, meaning he may be approached about the possibility of waiving his no-move clause for a desired destination at some point before the trade deadline or during the offseason.