Jordan Staal’s blonde hair is thinning in spots. It no longer spills out of the sides when he wears a hockey helmet or hat. The 28-year-old former Penguin even bemoaned fellow Thunder Bay, Ontario, native Matt Murray’s emergence because “he’s unfortunately a lot younger than I am.”
While we’re only talking about six years, it is amazing to think that Staal, once an 18-year-old rookie who burst on the scene with 29 goals in 2006-07, has made the transition into wily veteran, with nearly as many seasons in Carolina as Pittsburgh.
“I’m getting up there, I guess,” Staal said Wednesday following Carolina’s morning skate at PPG Paints Arena.