Well, clearly the guys over at Edwards Mill Road were a little bored too. They were probably sitting around (possibly playing ping pong in the players' lounge) going "hey you guys we need to do something...anything...". Then out of nowhere a little voice probably piped up "I know! I know! Ohh ohhh pick me!" You see when he wasn't texting or hiding under certain people's beds, Tripp had been working on a plan. "We need another Staal" he declared with authority.
Now I know what you're thinking and it does seem a little redundant to acquire a second member of the same family, but that ol' JR thought it was just crazy enough to work. So he went out and got himself another Staal. No not that Staal. Nope not that one either. Oh come on now people, that's just silly. There you go! That one.
Yup it's official, Jared Staal is a Carolina Hurricane. Well as long as they can sign him by June 1st (UPDATE: it seems they have agreed to terms with Jared) and
provided, of course, that he makes the team at some point. But forget those small details, we are just inches away from having more Staals than any other team in the league! That means we're guaranteed to win Stanley Cups! It means the hockey gods will smile on us once again! I can see the promos now and they are Staal-tastic! :does a little jig full of sarcasm:Honestly, no one knows whether this will turn into anything more than a PR stunt, but it did get me thinking about other brother combos in the NHL. We all know about the Sutters, the Richards, and the Staals. But what about lesser known names like the Millers, the Birons and the Cullens?
Some sibling fun facts first: since the NHL's inception in 1917, 47 brother pairs have played together on the same team with 10 of them winning the Stanley Cup together. Brothers have battled against each other 5 times in the Cup Finals (with the most recent incidence of sibling rivalry being in 2003 when the Niedermayer boys of the Ducks and Devils squared off).
The Miller boys are the first of two American born siblings that are making dinner conversations just a tad more tense. Ryan Miller is probably the better known of the two (Olympic hero, goaltender extraordinare), but baby bro Drew has one thing Ryan doesn't-a Stanley Cup ring (with the Ducks). Who do you think gets shotgun now?The duo never played against (or with) each other until the two met in the NHL as opponents. The two couldn't be more different. Drew is the more "aggressive" of the two, even giving his brother a shot across the mask during their first NHL meeting. Ryan is more "serious, analytical and even-tempered" and once asked for Star Wars Imperial Guards to "guard his room and keep Drew out of it". But, despite their differences, the two are most definitely friends, even if Drew does give his teammates the inside scoop on Ryan's weaknesses.
The Cullen have definitely managed to fly under the radar as far as "NHL brothers" go. While Matt is very familiar to fans all over the National Hockey League, younger brothers Mark and Joe are definitely less well known. Mark played 32 NHL games for the Blackhawks and Flyers in 2005-2006 and plays for the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. After being drafted by Edmonton, Joe has spent his whole career in the minors and now is part of the Ottawa Senators organization.
The Biron brothers made some history back in November of 2003 when Matheiu (then a defenseman for the Panthers) became the first player in 23 years to score on his brother. Bonus points if you can tell me who the last pair of brothers were that held this record. As Martin Biron, owner of the laser eyes, said:"The [last set of] brothers probably have been fighting for the last 23 years," Martin Biron joked. "We'll probably be fighting for the next 23 years, my brother and I."The Canadian born brothers no longer play against each other now that Matheiu has taken his services to Europe and the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. Martin remains in the NHL as one of the many goaltenders in the Islanders' system.
Odds are everyone has heard of the Lundqvist twins, but I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't jump at a chance to post this picture:
Umm...yeah let's move along. The identical Swedish twins (Henrik is 40 minutes older) became the third set of twins to play against each other in NHL history back in 2006. Growing up the brothers may have had their battles on the ice, but they always considered each other as a best friends first and rivals second. In fact, Henrik (and the Rangers for that matter) has Joel to thank for turning him into a goalie. When a coach asked the group who wanted to be in net, Joel volunteered his brother and the rest, as they say, is history.
Last, but certainly not least, are the Wesley brothers. Glen was, of course, a fixture on the Carolina blueline before hanging up the skates and moving to the front office. But many may not be as familiar with his older brother Blake (also a d-man) who played parts of 7 seasons with the Flyers, Whalers, Nordiques and Leafs before retiring in 1988.So there you have it. Will the 4th Staal follow in the footsteps of the older three and earn his place in the NHL (and Hurricanes) history books or, like some of the "other brothers" here, will he forever be a footnote on a Wikipedia page? Only time will tell. For the Hurricanes' sake I sincerely hope it's the first one.