Marc Staal: It would be 'very cool' if Rangers traded for brother Eric

Could Carolina Hurricanes forward Eric Staal join the New York Rangers by Monday's trade deadline? His brother Marc certainly hopes so.

Staal, a pending unrestricted free agent, awaits the Hurricanes' decision on his future. He would need to waive his no-trade clause in order for any deal to take place, but with the Rangers searching for a top-six addition to their lineup, there's certainly a possibility he could end up leaving his one brother Jordan to play alongside his other sibling by early next week.

"It's obviously something that I'd absolutely like to do," Marc Staal said to Andrew Gross of The Record on Friday. "It would be very cool. It would be a nice change of pace from playing against those two."

The 31-year-old Hurricanes captain is in the final year of a $57.75-million deal, and has spent his entire 12-year career in Carolina. However, he has not made the playoffs since 2009, and has only been to the postseason twice throughout his lengthy tenure.

"He’s been in Carolina a long time, he’s given a lot to that organization," Marc Staal said. "They [Eric and Jordan] have enjoyed it for sure. I think both of them would like to be in the playoffs together."

The 29-year-old defenseman inked a six-year, $34.2-million extension with the Rangers last season, but admittedly thought about how it would deny him of the opportunity to ever play on the same team as his brothers.

"It was definitely on my mind when I was re-signing," he said. "When you do that, you limit your opportunities to be able to play with them. Your career is only so long."

That could certainly change by 3 p.m. ET on Monday.