The talk around Raleigh today is that Eric Staal is close to signing a major contract extension. The only remaining questions are, for how much and how long? Chip Alexander at LSB is reporting that it could be worth between 7 and 10 million per year.

This morning, Jim Rutherford was on 99.9 The Fan and told Mike Maniscalco that he would like to get the deal done before the start of training camp. Rutherford has a policy of not negotiating contracts during the season, so it is a priority to get the deal completed soon.

Apparently, Staal has no problem with this "non-traditional" market and told Alexander that he and his wife dearly loved the area and the organization.

There is no doubt that the high scoring center is the franchise player for Carolina. The team would be wise to lock him up for as long as possible.