Eric Staal "mentally checked out"?

[mbudz4]

1) Was Eric's hit on his younger brother Marc (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLdfuky6BRg) the reason for his lackluster play early in the 2011-2012 season?

2) If so, has the lasting effect of giving Marc a (season, career ending?) concussion made Eric mentally and emotionally "checked out"?

By the sound of this article (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sport...rticle2210177/), YES it has. Eric Staal "still feels terrible about lowering the boom when Marc had his head down looking for the puck." Their dad says “Eric really isn’t pleased about it,” and that Eric is "not happy" about what happened.

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IMO, it's a valid point, and I think up for discussion at this point. Eric has started the season on a slower pace versus last year:

Through 12 games in 2011:
3 G, 2 A, 5 Pts, -12, 6 PIM, 4 PPP, 44 SOG, 8 Hits
Through 12 games in 2010:
4 G, 5 A, 9 Pts, +9, 14 PIM, 2 PPP, 45 SOG, 12 Hits

As for Jordan, it looks as though his on-ice play has not suffered any ill-effects from the brotherly hit:

Through 12 games in 2011:
6 G, 3 A, 9 Pts, +3, 8 PIM, 3 PPP, 26 SOG, 26 Hits
Through 12 games in 2010:
3 G, 4 A, 7 Pts, -1, 12 PIM, 3 PPP, 21 SOG, 24 Hits

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Eric was my #1 pick, 11th overall; while Marc's absence from the blue line has made any 2-3 goal lead very uneasy for a NYR fan like myself...but is there a "light at the end of the tunnel?"

I sure hope so, for all the brother's sake.

[Stunaman]

e staal is known for his slow starts. this cloud over his head probably does have an impact. i too wonder if it'll extend his slow start, which if it carries on too long just becomes a subpar season.

hard to say either way. guys will be out there buying low right now. i would weigh the offer and trade for more certainty, but not at a firesale price. in one of my leagues, I saw a e staal for richards trade. that is a trade I would do.

[NYR9394]

Let's be honest, Marc is going to be ok in life. He's not suffering from irrepairable brain damage that is going to effect him the rest of his life. He will not slip into a coma or anything like that. If not for the hyper-sensitivity (and rightfully so) to concussions, he'd be back on the ice already. If this was 15 years ago, Eric would be calling him "his pansy little brother who needs to get back on the ice". However, with all the new info on concussions, they're just not going to do that.


Long story short: Eric will be fine, as will Marc. I'm sure that when Eric steps on the rink, his first thought is not his brother. It's not a Dominic Moore situation. Let's not make it out to be.

[mbudz4]

Let's be honest, Marc is going to be ok in life. He's not suffering from irrepairable brain damage that is going to effect him the rest of his life. He will not slip into a coma or anything like that. If not for the hyper-sensitivity (and rightfully so) to concussions, he'd be back on the ice already. If this was 15 years ago, Eric would be calling him "his pansy little brother who needs to get back on the ice". However, with all the new info on concussions, they're just not going to do that.


Long story short: Eric will be fine, as will Marc. I'm sure that when Eric steps on the rink, his first thought is not his brother. It's not a Dominic Moore situation. Let's not make it out to be.

Dominic Moore situation? Need a refresher...

[waddy1788]

I hope he mentally checks back in soon! He is killing me! I need his production!!

[MGW]

I believe that's a Steve Moore (Bertuzzi) reference...

I am most surprised by Staal's +/- of -12. That's pretty wild considering the Canes are above .500 this season so far.

Haven't watched too much Carolina this year so far, so I can't comment much further in terms of how he's been looking out there.

[cbergeron]

This is an interesting spin on things (I must admit, I hadn't thought of that) although my sense is that this is just another slow start for Eric Staal (for the past 3 seasons at least, Staal has been slow out of the gate). The points are down compared to last season but the SOGs are the same as last year, which seems to indicate that Eric is getting the same chances but they're not rolling his way.

Your comparison included numbers from last season but this season looks more like the start of the 2009-10 season to me where Staal went as follows in 1st 13 games:

3 G, 2 A, 5 Pts, -5, 34 PIM, 3 PPP, 54 SOG

In 09-10, Staal finished with 70pts in 70games. I think he'll be all right.

Cheers. -C

[potatoetree]

Let's be honest, Marc is going to be ok in life. He's not suffering from irrepairable brain damage that is going to effect him the rest of his life. He will not slip into a coma or anything like that. If not for the hyper-sensitivity (and rightfully so) to concussions, he'd be back on the ice already. If this was 15 years ago, Eric would be calling him "his pansy little brother who needs to get back on the ice". However, with all the new info on concussions, they're just not going to do that.


Long story short: Eric will be fine, as will Marc. I'm sure that when Eric steps on the rink, his first thought is not his brother. It's not a Dominic Moore situation. Let's not make it out to be.

Serious concussions do affect you for life... and can involve some irreparable brain damage only Staal's doctors know how much damage was done. I also puts you at higher risk for epilepsy and clinical depression.

[150Swiftly]

Staal is still playing with heart, he is just snake-bitten and gripping the stick too tightly. He still celebrates enthusiastically when he scores (I know.. it's been a few games) and he smashes his stick on the ice almost every time he doesn't score on an opportunity. Invariably, when the camera focuses on him sitting on the bench after a failure to convert on a PP he is cursing under his breath and clearly agitated.

Let's not forget that Staal can be streaky, and that Staal can be a slow starter. Also, do you think that Marc is letting Eric feel bad about nailing him? Please, it's not as if he is sitting in a dark room wearing earplugs and sunglasses..

I think that if there is a real problem, it will be fixed by changing the players around E.Staal.

[mbudz4]

This is an interesting spin on things (I must admit, I hadn't thought of that) although my sense is that this is just another slow start for Eric Staal (for the past 3 seasons at least, Staal has been slow out of the gate). The points are down compared to last season but the SOGs are the same as last year, which seems to indicate that Eric is getting the same chances but they're not rolling his way.

Your comparison included numbers from last season but this season looks more like the start of the 2009-10 season to me where Staal went as follows in 1st 13 games:

3 G, 2 A, 5 Pts, -5, 34 PIM, 3 PPP, 54 SOG

In 09-10, Staal finished with 70pts in 70games. I think he'll be all right.

Cheers. -C

Thanks for the history insight. He has the ability to produce, he can get there again.

[mbudz4]

Staal is still playing with heart, he is just snake-bitten and gripping the stick too tightly. He still celebrates enthusiastically when he scores (I know.. it's been a few games) and he smashes his stick on the ice almost every time he doesn't score on an opportunity. Invariably, when the camera focuses on him sitting on the bench after a failure to convert on a PP he is cursing under his breath and clearly agitated.

Appreciate the insight here....most of us don't get a chance to see the 'Canes play, so painting this picture helps us see what's really going on. Sounds like he is showing emotion and hard work. Like someone mentioned before, his SOG tally is high, just not burying the biscuit as much.

[Lucky Man]

e staal is known for his slow starts. this cloud over his head probably does have an impact. i too wonder if it'll extend his slow start, which if it carries on too long just becomes a subpar season.

hard to say either way. guys will be out there buying low right now. i would weigh the offer and trade for more certainty, but not at a firesale price. in one of my leagues, I saw a e staal for richards trade. that is a trade I would do.

Just out of curiosity, Mike or Brad Richards?

[27Blue]

seen a few canes games this year and stall was the worst player on the ice. total floater - no commitment to defense. even if the puck isn't going in for a player, they can still work hard and take care of their defensive responsibilities - not staal, not yet. mind you, i haven't seen the last 3-4 canes games, so he may have bumped up the effort... but from what i saw, this was more than a guy just not getting bounces. his +/- is twice as bad as any other player on his team...

[Chili con Carne]

This reminds me a lot of Marleau last year and he finished with pretty good numbers (he was -23 or something at some point and finished near even). Staal has done this before (someone in this thread mentioned his season two years ago) and come out fine.

It can be cause for concern when Staal has a stat line of 3G, 2A and -12 and Pitkanen has 2G, 5A and only -5, however, I think patience is the key here.