- It has long been expected that Carolina Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal’s pending unrestricted free agency was more of a formality than anything else, and that the 34-year-old center would end up re-signing with the franchise he’s been with since the 2012 offseason. But according to TSN’s Darren Dreger on Insider Trading, that may no longer be the case. Dreger reports that Staal’s camp “has supplied” the Hurricanes “with a number of options” on a new deal but that their negotiations are “at an impasse,” and that owner Tom Dundon will need “to move from his position” in order to re-sign his captain. Dreger adds that if that doesn’t happen, we “absolutely could see” Staal “as a free agent on July 1st.” That would be a decently shocking outcome for Staal and the Hurricanes, though it now seems like a once-remote possibility Hurricanes fans may need to begin preparing for.