Jordan Staal - Playing Career - Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Penguins

Staal was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract by the Penguins on October 2, 2006, and made the immediate jump from junior to the NHL in 2006–07 at the age of 18. He scored his first NHL goal on October 12, a shorthanded breakway marker against New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist in a 6–5 win. Later that month, on October 21, Staal set a pair of NHL records with a two-goal effort against the Columbus Blue Jackets. In addition to becoming the youngest player to record a two-goal game since Bep Guidolin of the Boston Bruins did so at the age of 18 years and 12 days on December 21, 1943, Staal also scored both his goals on the penalty kill, becoming the youngest player to record two shorthanded goals in one game (surpassing Radek Dvorak of the Florida Panthers, who did so at 20 years and 278 days on December 12, 1997). Having scored his second shorthanded marker on a penalty shot, Staal additionally became the youngest player to score on a penalty shot, surpassing Nathan Horton, who scored with Florida at 18 years and 224 days on January 8, 2004.

Early in Staal's rookie season, however, there was still speculation that he would be returned to his junior team before playing his 10th game to avoid allowing him to accrue a full season under the NHL's collective bargaining agreement. However, due to his strong play, particularly on the penalty-kill, the Penguins chose to keep him for the remainder of the season. Staal, along with fellow rookie Evgeni Malkin joined superstar Sidney Crosby, who had himself only entered his second NHL season, and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to form an effective young nucleus that revived the Penguins franchise.

In January 2007, Staal participated in the NHL YoungStars Game during the All-Star festivities, along with teammates Ryan Whitney and Malkin. Shortly thereafter, on February 10, 2007, Staal scored his first NHL career hat trick against the Toronto Maple Leafs and set yet another NHL record by becoming the youngest player in league history to score a hat trick at 18 years and 153 days. His first goal came at 19:22 in the first period, the second came at 3:32 in the second, and his third was the game winner, as he beat Toronto goalie Andrew Raycroft stick-side at 3:54 in overtime. The previous mark had been held for over sixty years by Jack Hamilton, who achieved a four-goal game at 18 years and 185 days old with the Maple Leafs against the New York Rangers on December 4, 1943. Then, late in the season, on March 6, Staal scored his league-leading seventh shorthanded goal of the season to break the previous league record for shorthanded tallies by a rookie, set by Gerry Minor of the Vancouver Canucks in 1980–81 and matched by John Madden in 1999–2000. The goal cued a late third period comeback for the Penguins to win 5–4 in a shootout against the Ottawa Senators.

Staal completed his rookie season with 29 goals, second in rookie goal-scoring to teammate Malkin, and 42 points for a Calder Memorial Trophy nomination. The award was given to Malkin, while Staal finished third in voting, behind first runner-up Paul Stastny of the Colorado Avalanche. Staal also joined Malkin and Stastny on the NHL All-Rookie Team.

The next season, in 2007–08, however, Staal's production suffered a setback, managing just 12 goals and 28 points. Regardless, he was an integral part of the Penguins' 2008 playoff run to the Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings. Playing in the semi-finals against the Philadelphia Flyers, Staal briefly left the Penguins to attend his grandfather's funeral during the series, but returned for a two-goal game four effort, in which he cued a near-comeback in the third period to cut the Flyers lead to 3–2. The Penguins were eventually defeated 4–2, but managed to eliminate the Flyers the following game. As the Penguins made their first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 1992, the last time they won the Stanley Cup, they were defeated in six games by the Red Wings. Staal contributed 6 goals and 1 assist during the playoff run.

Early in the 2008–09 season, the Penguins and Red Wings met for the first time since the Stanley Cup series on November 11, 2008. With the Penguins down by three goals in the third period, Staal notched his second career NHL hat trick to tie the game, then set up Ruslan Fedotenko's overtime winner to defeat the Red Wings 7–6. On December 2, 2008, he was named to the rotating position of alternate captain for the Penguins for the month of December. The following month, on January 8, 2009, the Penguins announced that they had extended Staal's contract through the 2012–13 season. Terms of the contract were for $16 million, payable as $3.5 million for the first two seasons, and then $4.5 million for the last two years, resulting in a $4.0 million salary cap hit. He completed the season bouncing back from the decreased production of his sophomore year with a career-high 27 assists and 49 points.

On June 12, 2009, Staal and the Penguins won the Stanley Cup when they defeated the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 at Joe Louis Arena. Staal had two goals and an assist in the seven-game series, and scored a shorthanded goal that was a pivotal point in Game 4 of the series.

At the end of the regular season, Staal was named as one of the three finalists for the Selke Trophy along with Pavel Datsyuk and Ryan Kesler, awarded annually to the best defensive forward in the league. On April 30, 2010 Staal injured his right leg after his foot was sliced by Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban's skate. He had to undergo surgery to repair a torn tendon on top of his big toe. During this injury, Staal ended up missing Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Canadiens, the first game Staal had missed in a Penguins uniform since his rookie season - a streak of 358 consecutive games played including the playoffs.

Staal missed the entire first month of October, still recovering from foot surgery. Then on November 1, just two days before he was to make his season debut, he was struck by a puck in practice, fracturing his hand and sidelining him again for surgery. Staal finally made his season debut at the NHL Winter Classic on January 1, 2011.

On April 18, 2012, Staal registered his first playoff hat trick against the Philadelphia Flyers in a 10-3 victory at the Wells Fargo Center. He would finish the series with six goals as the Penguins lost to the Flyers in six games, their second consecutive first round Playoff exit.