If you watch a lot of Staal play, you realize he is a unicorn hockey player. He's elite defensively as they come, and I've said for a while he is second only to Bergeron. He very well could win the Selke in the next four years. On a team where everyone plays great defense, Jordan Staal is still at least a standard deviation better than the 2nd best defensive forward. The only better defensive player on the Canes than Staal is Slavin, and I'd put him above Pesce.
His defensive positioning is elite.
His board play is elite.
He is the strongest and most fit player on our team every year.
He can play with AHL or barely NHL players and elevate their game (see Jordan Martinook this year and other players like Andrej Nestrasil and Joakim Nordstrom in years past).
He has hands of stone, but is a decent net-front presence.
You can count on him for about 17 goals a year.
He raises his game in the playoff, and is usually one of our most impactful forwards. He scores about 0.5PPG in the playoffs.
His game is such that he doesn't rely much on speed or agility, but more strength and positioning. At this point, it looks like he could play another 4 years and still be a quality 3rd or 4th line center. However, if the mental quickness slips he could fall off. The best comparable at this point to J Staal is late-game Rod Brind'Amour. Unfortunately for Brindy, his game completely fell off a cliff at about 38-39. Fortunately for Staal, his contract ends at that age.