David Jiricek's Wild Debut The former Minnesota Wild forward got his jersey retired by the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday. Eric Staal played 12 seasons with the Hurricanes. He recorded 322 goals, 453 assists, and 775 points in 909 games. He won a Stanley Cup with the team and is the fourth player in the team's history to have their jersey retired. Staal, 40, had one year stints with the Buffalo Sabres, New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, and the Florida Panthers. He played four years for the Wild from 2016 to 2020. He found his game again when he joined the Wild in 2016 as a 32-year old. Staal recorded 28 goals, 37 assists, and 65 points in his first season with the Wild. He recorded 42 goals and 76 points the next season with the Wild. The 6-foot-4 center tied Marian Gaborik's franchise record 42-goal season that year. He also recorded the third highest point total in a single season in Wild franchise history during the 2017-18 season. Staal was an all-star that season for the Wild and was again in 2019-20 when he finished the year with 19 goals and 47 points in 66 games. That was his last season with the Wild and he was eventually traded to the Buffalo Sabres for Marcus Johansson. In his four seasons with the Wild, Staal recorded 111 goals, 129 assists, and 240 points in 311 games. He ranks ninth in Wild history for goals and assists, and is tenth in points. Let us know what you think by commenting below or on the Forum [https://thehockeynews.rtb.io/minnesota-wild/posts]. Make sure you bookmark The Hockey News' Minnesota Wild page [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild/] for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more. Follow Dylan Loucks on Blue Sky [https://bsky.app/profile/dylanloucks.bsky.social] and Twitter (X). [https://twitter.com/DylanLoucks4?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor]
