Hurricanes center Jordan Staal reverses course, is now open to new contract

Back in June, Hurricanes center Jordan Staal indicated that he wasn’t interested in pursuing an early extension and that they’d look at his contract after the upcoming season. However, it appears his stance has changed since then. The 34-year-old told NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti that there have been a few discussions about a new deal this summer and expressed his desire to stick around.

"I want to be in the Hurricanes organization for as long as I can, and I’m sure whether it’s an extension now or they re-up me at the end of the year or if they’re done with me, it will happen," Staal said.

Staal is entering his 11th season with Carolina and his fourth as team captain. He remains one of the stronger defensive middlemen in the league, and even as his ice time has dipped a bit lately, he still managed to put up 17 goals and 19 assists last season. Those numbers won’t be enough to earn him a raise on the $6M AAV that he currently has. But a multiyear agreement at a bit of a lower rate is something that could be hashed out by both sides whether it’s in the coming days or closer to next summer.

More from the Metropolitan:

• The Capitals are believed to be among the teams that have shown some interest in free-agent winger Jake Virtanen, reports 630 CHED’s Bob Stauffer. The 26-year-old had his contract bought out by Vancouver last summer following allegations of sexual assault. That went to trial, and six weeks ago, he was found not guilty. Virtanen spent last season in the KHL and has 100 points over 317 career NHL contests.  At this point, it seems likely that he’ll land a PTO or a contract near the league minimum over the coming days.
• Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield has no lingering issues from the lower-body injury that caused him to miss more than a month at the end of the season, relays Newsday’s Andrew Gross. Accordingly, he’ll be ready to go when training camp gets underway next week. Mayfield has been an unheralded part of the back end for the Isles for several seasons now, and he’ll likely be once again counted on to play upwards of 20 minutes per game. Notably, the 29-year-old is entering the final season of a contract that has turned out to be a bargain at a $1.45M AAV.