Eric Staal announced his retirement from the NHL on July 30, 2024, signing a ceremonial contract to retire with the Carolina Hurricanes, for whom he played 12 of his 18 NHL seasons. The No. 2 pick of the 2003 NHL Draft, Staal had 1,063 points (455 goals, 608 assists) in 1,365 games with the Hurricanes, New York Rangers, Minnesota Wild, Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens and Florida Panthers, and 64 points (25 goals, 39 assists) in 104 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He was Hurricanes captain for seven seasons (2009-16) and retired as the team's leader in games (909), goals (322), assists (453) and points (775) since the franchise relocated from Hartford for the 1997-98 season.

Eric, the oldest of the four hockey-playing Staal brothers, is a member of hockey's Triple Gold Club: He won a gold medal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and an IIHF World Championship in 2007 with Canada, and he helped the Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup in 2006.

Staal spent a decade rewriting the Hurricanes record book. After being selected by Carolina with the No. 2 pick in the 2003 NHL Draft, his great hands and 6-foot-4 frame helped him jump from junior hockey to the NHL as a 19-year-old. He played 81 games during the 2003-04 season, finishing ninth among rookies with 31 points. Staal also played in the YoungStars Game during NHL All-Star Weekend and finished 15th in voting for the Calder Trophy.

But Staal took his place among the NHL's elite in 2005-06. With 45 goals and 100 points, he cracked the League's top 10 in each category. He also earned a spot on the NHL's Second All-Star Team and was fourth in voting for the Hart Trophy. Staal then helped lead the Hurricanes to the first championship in their history, topping all players with 28 points (nine goals, 19 assists) in 25 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

Staal led the Hurricanes in scoring eight times from 2005-06 through 2014-15 and represented Carolina at four NHL All-Star Games. His streak of 349 consecutive games played between March 20, 2004 and Nov. 1, 2009, was a record for the franchise during its time in Carolina. In January 2010, Staal replaced Rod Brind'Amour as captain.

He also started a game alongside two of his brothers, forwards Jordan and Jared, against the  Rangers and the fourth Staal brother, defenseman Marc Staal, on April 25, 2013. But after struggling to generate offense in 2015-16 (10 goals and 33 points in 63 games) Staal was traded to the Rangers by the Hurricanes on Feb. 28, 2016.

Staal had six points (three goals, three assists) in 20 regular-season games with the Rangers, who lost their Eastern Conference First Round series to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. On July 1, 2016, Staal signed a three-year contract with the Wild.

The move to Minnesota appeared to revitalize Staal. He finished 2016-17 with 28 goals, the most he'd scored in a season since 2010-11, and 65 points. The 33-year-old center then scored 42 goals (fourth in the NHL) and finished with 76 points in 2017-18. He joined Gordie Howe as the only players in NHL history to have 40-goal seasons at least nine seasons apart with none in between.

Staal became the 89th player to join the NHL's 1,000-point club on Dec. 15, 2019, when he scored a power-play goal against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Staal agreed to a one-year contract with the Panthers on Oct. 21, 2022, after joining them during training camp on a professional tryout contract. He played the previous season for Iowa, the Wild's American Hockey League affiliate, after signing a PTO with them. At the 2022 Beijing Olympics, he had four points (one goal, three assists) in five games and was captain for Canada, which finished sixth.

Staal played his 1,300th NHL game Nov. 9, a 3-0 Panthers win against the Hurricanes at FLA Live Arena, the site of his NHL debut and younger brothers Marc and Jordan sharing the ice. Eric became the 64th player in NHL history to reach the milestone and played the same game with his brothers for the first time in more than six years. He scored his first playoff short-handed goal in his 100th NHL postseason game, Florida's 5-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 1 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final. It was his first goal in the Final in 17 years, the longest span between goals in the Final in NHL history, besting Mark Recchi (15 years from Game 5 in 1991 to Game 2 in 2006).