The Staals are just the fourth family to have three brothers play in the same Stanley Cup Playoff series
It isn’t often when three members of the same family find their way onto the ice together for an NHL game, let alone three brothers.
That’s what is happening during the Eastern Conference Final though.
Three brothers, Eric Staal, Marc Staal and Jordan Staal, are all playing in the same Stanley Cup Playoff series.
“We're competitive at everything we do, it doesn't matter what it is,” said Marc. “Anything, playing darts playing golf, fishing, whatever. We want to win.”
Eric and Marc are teammates, suiting up for the Florida Panthers, while Jordan has captained the Carolina Hurricanes for the past four seasons.
After officially all playing during Game 1 on Thursday, the Staal’s have become just the fourth family to have three brothers skate in a playoff series, joining the Sutter family, the Plager family and the Boucher family.
“At this point of the playoffs, it means someone's going get a great opportunity to win a Stanley Cup,” said Eric.
It is also just the seventh time in NHL history that three brothers have shared the ice during a series in the Stanley Cup Playoffs; the Sutter boys did it thrice (Duane, Ron and Brent in 1985 and 1987, and then Brent, Ron and Rich in 1992) and the Boucher clan twice (Bobby, Billy and George in the 1924 NHL final and then Bobby, Billy and Frank in the Stanley Cup Final).
“For us, we've grown up together, loving this game and playing this game,” Eric continued. “It’s been a long time, but the goal remains the same, no matter what and when and where.”
The uber-competitive brothers are now battling for the ultimate prize.
Whichever team wins this series will get to play for the Stanley Cup. Some players go their entire careers without earning that opportunity.
“It's not lost on us,” said Marc. “It's extremely cool. It's very surreal for us to be in this position in the stages of our career, to have the opportunity to play against each other and compete with each other, and to play with Eric with a chance to go to a Stanley Cup Final. It's awesome.”
There are a total of four Staal brothers, and they all have a rooting interest in this series.
Eric, 38, is the oldest, followed by 36-year-old Marc, 34-year-old Jordan and Jared, the youngest, who is 32.
Like his brothers, Jared also made it to the NHL, but only for a couple of games. He’s now an assistant coach with the Panthers’ AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers.
That would lead one to assume that Jared is team Panthers in this series.
“Yeah, 100%,” Eric said, adding, “I think my parents are pro-Panthers, too, they just won’t tell you that.”
The normally tight brothers are putting their lifelong camaraderie on the back burner for a couple weeks.
That’s what will happen when three of the four brothers are involved in a Stanley Cup Playoff series.
Marc said there were some text messages shared in the brothers’ group chat as recently as Wednesday, the day before Game 1, but he doesn’t expect to hear anything but crickets in that chat for the next couple weeks.
“We'll probably go radio silence from here on out,” said Marc.
Considering the obvious tightness between the brothers, it leads one to wonder whether any of them wished the other good fortune in the battle to come.
“No, no there wasn’t,” Eric said with a chuckle.
The brothers have a deep enough bond that they are able to put things aside for a fortnight and battle for the ultimate prize in their profession.
It’s a bond that was forged in Thunder Bay, Ontario, on the ice of the neighborhood rink that was right in front the Staal house, just down the driveway and to the left.
“We played every day, competed every day in everything that we did,” said Eric. “The outdoor rink was hugely important to us finding love and joy in the game.”
Henry and Linda Staal, the parents who raised the four brothers who now have NHL pedigrees, are still back home in Thunder Bay.
The longtime hockey parents are tuned in to the series, on pins and needles, waiting to see which of their boys ends up with the latest and greatest set of bragging rights.
“They're going to be hiding in their basement probably watching with one eye open,” said Marc. “It's tough for them. Obviously, they cheer for us all year long, and now one or two of us are going to be very disappointed at the end of this.”
There is also a sense of pride in seeing your children have such success in their careers.
It’s amazing how far the Staal’s have come, from sharing bedrooms and fighting over pond and floor hockey results to competing with each other on one of the game’s grandest stages.
“We've definitely had some moments where the sticks went flying and there's some stitches and some fights, and sometimes mom had to tell everyone enough and send us to our room, but that's part of it, and we've always figured it out after that,” said Eric.