Eric Staal made the familiar trip into PNC Arena on Thursday, but walked to the visitors' locker room for the first time in his NHL career.

The former Hurricanes captain, set to make his first appearance in Carolina as a member of the New York Rangers, was welcomed back by the club and its fans with a "Thank You Eric" photo wall.

Staal played the first 909 games of his career with the Hurricanes and helped bring the Stanley Cup to Carolina back in 2006.

Copyright © 2016 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.