RALEIGH, NC—Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the National Hockey League has confirmed approval of Eric Staal’s new contract extension. The league had initially asked the Hurricanes to make a slight adjustment to the contract’s verbiage and re-submit it for approval.

Staal agreed to the seven-year contract extension on Sept. 11. The $57.75 million deal begins with the 2009-10 NHL season and extends through the 2015-16 season, paying him an average of $8.25 million per season.

The Carolina Hurricanes open their regular season schedule on Friday, Oct. 10 against the Florida Panthers. For information on Hurricanes ticket packages, visit www.CarolinaHurricanes.com or call 1-866-NHL-CANES. Single-game Hurricanes tickets for October and November will go on sale on Sept. 21 in conjunction with the Caniac Carnival, and will be available at the Time Warner Cable Box Office at the RBC Center, CarolinaHurricanes.com and all Ticketmaster outlets.