Carolina Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal was once again a dependable defensive piece this season.
While his overall offensive production continued to decrease, his shutdown game was still very good.
After registering some of the best possession numbers of his career, Staal finished second in Selke voting, the highest he's ever been for that award.
The Canes held their first round of exit interviews on Saturday following the conclusion of their 2023-24 season which ended after losing in six games to the New York Rangers in the second round of the playoffs.
Here's what Staal had to say:
On if he feels the season was a disappointment or if he can take any positives from it: I mean, it's close to disappointment. Our standards are really high here. It's hard to win it all but you're hoping to. There's definitely some disappointment. I thought we had a great group. I thought we battled hard obviously but came up short. It's part of the game, trying to get better and we have to find ways to get better. I know this group might change this summer as well. It's unfortunate and is what is most disappointing. It's just kind of sad really.
On what he thinks the team might need: I've said this in the past. I think every team that makes the playoffs expects big things. I don't think there's a team out there that loses in the playoffs that isn't disappointed. You want to win every year and you want to give yourself a chance is really what you want. I think we've built some great teams and we've come up short and it's been frustrating, but there's a few plays here and there and things could look different. Blowing it all up or changing everything is kind of a knee jerk reaction, I think. We have a great core here with some really good young players and obviously this team could be really good for a long time. I think just those little tweaks could be the difference and we'd be talking about something completely different.
On potentially losing pieces of the core group: That's what's kind of more disappointing about this year. Last year, we knew we had a lot of guys coming back and we knew what kind of group we had. Do I think we can keep a lot of those guys? Yeah, I think we can. There's some room there and I know that group wants more here for the Hurricanes and wants to be around for it. We'll see how it all unfolds. Obviously it's out of my paygrade, but personally I'd love to keep everyone in that room. We're very close and a great team and a lot of fun to be a part of.
On if he feels the system they play could be holding them back: No, I think the game is there. There's always tweaks to be made and especially in the playoffs. When you start playing against a team, you have to win in different ways against different teams. You guys might not see that stuff throughout the playoffs, but we're making adjustments all the time. But I think the base of the way we play and what we do, it creates winning hockey. It's shown over the years and I don't think completely blasting that up really creates a lot of better outcomes.
On refuting claims that Rod Brind'Amour's contract situation was a distraction in the playoffs: It really wasn't. I liked to chirp Roddy a little bit about it, but the guys know what Roddy's all about and obviously what he means to this organization and really just the person he is. I haven't really had a conversation with him about it so I don't know where he's exactly at, but I have a pretty good gut feeling of what he's going to say and how it's all going to unfold. Very similar to my situation last year when I had some questions, but I wanted to be a Hurricane and I'm assuming he's going to say the same thing.
On the takeaways for the younger guys: It's hard to win, for one. It's kind of all got to click, but also just how hard it is and what you have to grind through. The ups and downs of the playoffs and the mental part of never giving up and really just pushing through all the crap that comes with a Stanley Cup run. Those guys, they've seen most of it. We haven't pulled it off yet, but we're very close.
On Seth Jarvis: The kid grinds and he's going to be a great player here for a while. He's obviously not the biggest guy in the room, but he plays big and plays strong. An exceptional player and one of the best players I've ever played with. He's a lot of fun on and off the ice. He's a good kid.