from Bob McKenzie of TSN,

The long-awaited and much-anticipated dialogue on the future of Eric Staal as a Carolina Hurricane took place yesterday.

That’s not to say there was a decision or resolution of any kind.

Carolina general manager Ron Francis and Staal's agent Rick Curran did talk on the phone on Tuesday, but basically deferred ‎all matters relating to Staal's future to the new year.

Neither Francis ‎nor Curran wanted to comment publicly, other than to indicate no doors have been opened or closed on either side and there's no timetable beyond "talking again sometime in the new year."

In a nutshell, the Staal situation appears as basic as this: Does he stay or does he go?

All we know with any certainty at this point is we'll be waiting weeks, if not months, for a definitive answer.

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