Staal is a member of the Triple Gold Club, having won the Stanley Cup with the Hurricanes in 2006, and both the 2007 World Championships and the 2010 Winter Olympics with Team Canada.

[10] As the 2004–05 season was cancelled due to a lock-out, Staal spent the year with the Hurricanes' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Lowell Lock Monsters.

He established new franchise records in points (77), assists (51), plus-minus (+37) and shorthanded goals (7) in a season, and was also called for the AHL All Star Classic.

After the season, Staal finished fourth in voting for the Hart Memorial Trophy, awarded to the NHL's most valuable player (MVP).

[13] On April 28, 2009, Staal capped an improbable comeback by scoring the series-winning goal with 31.7 seconds remaining in Game 7 of Carolina's first-round series of the 2009 playoffs against the New Jersey Devils.

[15] The Hurricanes went as far as the Eastern Conference Finals, ultimately losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

[16] On January 18, 2011, Staal was named one of two team captains for 2011 NHL All-Star Game, held in the Hurricanes' home city of Raleigh.

[18] On February 28, 2016, Staal, in the final year of his contract, was traded to the New York Rangers in exchange for Aleksi Saarela and two second-round draft picks (2016 and 2017).

[26] On March 26, 2021, the Buffalo Sabres traded Staal to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for third and fifth-round picks in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.

[28] Staal made his debut for Iowa the following day, collecting a goal and assist against the Chicago Wolves in marking his first AHL game in over 16 years.

[30] In March 2023, Eric, along with his brother Marc, refused to wear Pride-themed jerseys in the pre-game warmups as a part of the Panthers' annual Pride Night; they cited their Christian faith as the reason for their decision and despite that Eric did wear Pride-themed jersey as a member of the Montreal Canadiens during the 2020–21 NHL season.

Along with younger brother Jordan, he won gold in a 4–2 win against Finland,[35] scoring five goals, including the overtime winner in the quarter-finals over the Czech Republic.

The Olympic title added to previous NHL and World Championship wins, made Staal the 23rd player in the Triple Gold Club.

[40] He would get injured in the first period of the quarter-finals, which Canada ended up losing to eventual champions Sweden, after a knee-on-knee hit by defenceman Alexander Edler.