from Chip Alexander of the News & Observer,

What if Eric Staal is traded by the Carolina Hurricanes this season?

What if he doesn’t re-sign with the organization and his days with the Canes come to an end after 12 seasons?

“That uncertainty has been a little bit of a topic,” Jordan Staal said this week. “It’s obviously out of our control but it’s hard not to talk about scenarios.

“It’s unfortunate, but we know if we play consistently well things will go well and will go the way we want it to. We both love it here and we want to play here, and that’s what we’re going to try to do.”

Eric Staal, the team captain since January 2010, is in the final year of a long-term contract and is the Canes’ highest-paid player at $9.5 million. There is a no-trade clause in the contract and Staal said again this week that he’d like to stay with an organization that drafted him in 2003.

Canes general manager Ron Francis said Thursday that he talked with Rick Curran, who represents Eric and Jordan Staal, in mid-December and that the decision was made to push back negotiations until the middle of January. Both sides say the length of a new contract and the financial terms have not been proposed.

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