When Jim Rutherford pulled the trigger on the blockbuster trade that brought Jordan Staal to the Carolina Hurricanes from the Pittsburgh Penguins at the NHL Entry Draft in 2012, he envisioned a new era of Hurricanes greatness ushered in by having two large, well-rounded, Cup-winning centers anchoring his top two lines.
Unfortunately, for a whole multitude of reasons, that vision that Rutherford had never came to pass as a reality. Whether the Staal brothers were hampered by an embarrassing lack of forward depth, abominations of defense units, sub par goaltending, or injuries, the results of the two-Staal era have always been lacking and falling short.