Jacob Markstrom cleared waivers in the preseason when the Vancouver Canucks sneaked him down to the AHL.

That would not happen again if Vancouver tried that a second time. Not with the way Markstrom has played this year.

Markstrom was recalled on an emergency basis Monday after starting goalie Ryan Miller flew home to have on MRI done on his lower-body injury. It doesn’t sound as if Miller will play any time soon.

The conditions of the emergency recall are important: If Markstrom plays in 10 games while he’s up, he will be required to clear waivers upon an AHL demotion.

It’s likely he wouldn’t play in 10 games, given that he’s coming up to back up Eddie Lack. So Utica of the AHL should be able to get its standout goalie back at some point before the end of the season without the threat of waivers.

However, if Miller is out for the long term and Markstrom does indeed play in 10 games, it just means the Canucks would keep Markstrom up for the rest of the season and playoffs.

That would be too bad for Utica, but there's no way the Canucks would ever expose Markstrom again after the wonderful year he’s had.

Staal staying put (for now)

The Carolina Hurricanes have no interest in trading Jordan Staal, despite the chatter out of Pittsburgh over the weekend that the Penguins would love to reacquire him.

Sure, Penguins GM Jim Rutherford would like to bring Staal back to town this summer. Why wouldn't he?

But there’s no plan at this point within the Hurricanes organization to move either Jordan or his brother Eric Staal. They want to rebuild around them.

Hurricanes GM Ron Francis told Chip Alexander of the News and Observer on Monday, "We are not moving Jordan Staal."

A source told ESPN.com that Francis even went to the point of calling Jordan Staal on Sunday to reassure him that the Pittsburgh media speculation about a potential deal was unfounded.

I don’t think Francis has any intention of dealing either brother. However, one cannot predict how owner Peter Karmanos will react in the offseason when it comes to finances. There’s been financial pressure in the past with this organization and that’s really the only reason to think that perhaps anything could happen with the Staal brothers.

From a hockey-only perspective, I think the Hurricanes want to keep them.