Hurricanes change it all to Staal for captain's 1,000th game celebration

On Monday even "Mista Svechnikov" was a Staal.

Jordan Martinook's pregame ritual of screaming out "Mista Svechnikov!" to fire up teammate Andrei Svechnikov got a little edit thanks to it being the celebration of captain Jordan Staal's 1,000th career game.

Martinook has been referring to his teammate as "Mista Svechnikov" thanks to a friendly parking attendant's unique style back when he played for the Arizona Coyotes. But even that fan favorite ritual got a Staal-related twist.
The Hurricanes also each wore Staal's No. 11 for warmups and the team put together a tribute video for their captain's nine seasons in Raleigh.

The Detroit Red Wings were and appropriate opponent for Jordan Staal's 1,000th game as they feature defenseman Marc Staal, his brother. Former Hurricanes forward Jared Staal was also in attendance at PNC Arena.
Montreal Canadiens forward Eric Staal, who played 12 seasons for the Hurricanes and led them to a Stanley Cup in 2006, could not be there but sent a video for his brother's big day.

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby - who won the Cup with Staal in 2009 - and former Hurricanes teammates Justin Williams and Cam Ward sent congratulations among others.

The team gifted Staal a golfing trip to the famous Pebble Beach Golf Links in Northern California and an original painting in commemoration of the feat. He also received the customary silver stick. Martinook and Jacob Slavin presented Jordan and his wife, Heather, with an etched wine bottle.
The emotion of the night almost got the better of him, he admitted.
"It was tough to hold back the emotions," Staal said during a first intermission interview. "Really cool moment. I don't love the attention, but I tried to enjoy it the best I could."