LAS VEGAS – There were no shortcuts for Jordan Staal.Not during the 17 agonizingly long years he grinded between Stanley Cup victories, setting a new NHL record for longest wait between championships when he accepted that trophy from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on Sunday night.And not during an inspiring two-month run where the Carolina Hurricanes captain left no assignment missed or no detail unchecked, earning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.Staal scored six goals during a six-game series win over the Vegas Golden Knights in the Final, but his contributions ran much deeper than that. He absolutely dominated his head-to-head matchups through all four rounds, and was the emotional leader of a well-balanced team that featured just one other former Cup winner in fourth-liner William Carrier. In the most competitive environment imaginable, Staal won seemingly every key faceoff while serving as a linchpin of the league’s best penalty kill. He added three power-play goals of his own for good measure.There was no aspect of Carolina’s game Staal didn’t influence for the better.“He’s a beast,” Sidney Crosby told The Athletic of his former Pittsburgh Penguins teammate. “He does everything so well, and on top of it he filled the net. He’s been playing that way since he was 18.”Except now Staal is a 37-year-old sage who just became the oldest player ever awarded the Conn Smythe.So integral was he to the Hurricanes that in the runup to Sunday’s potential elimination game, which Carolina won 3-0, head coach Rod Brind’Amour said he didn’t have to worry about his players being distracted by all of the planning and hoopla building in the background because he had Staal taking care of everything.“I don’t worry about the stuff that you would think we have to worry about,” Brind’Amour said. “From the coach’s perspective, that makes my job so easy. I don’t really have to be going around wondering kind of where everyone’s heads are. That’s the kind of guy he is.”