Defenseman Marc Staal, who played last season for the Flyers, retires after 17 NHL seasons
Staal, 37, played 17 NHL seasons, including 35 games last year with the Flyers where he served as a mentor for the team's young blueliners.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/pmn/ECTYYG5J6BFI3IZRKTF4Y7TULM.jpg)
And then there was one.
On Thursday, the New York Rangers announced that they have hired Marc Staal in a player development role, signaling an end to the veteran defenseman’s 17-season NHL career. Staal, who played for the Flyers last season, is the second Staal brother to retire this summer after Eric officially hung up his skates on Aug. 8. The moves leave Carolina Hurricanes center Jordan Staal as the final Staal brother in the NHL.
The 37-year-old Staal finishes his career with 53 goals and 181 assists in 1,136 career games played for four teams: the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, and Flyers. Known primarily as a stay-at-home defensive defenseman, Staal played his first 13 seasons in New York, where he established himself as a reliable middle-pair player for a regular Stanley Cup contender. He was an All-Star in 2011 and played in two Stanley Cup Finals, most recently in 2023 with the Florida Panthers.
Staal signed a one-year deal with the Flyers on July 3, 2023. While his tenure in Philadelphia wasn’t long, he made a major impact despite playing in just 35 games and notching five points (one goal, four assists). His primary role last season was to serve as a mentor to the team’s young defensemen, for which coach John Tortorella, general manager Danny Brière, and several of the team’s defensemen praised him.
» READ MORE: Marc Staal will mentor the Flyers’ young defensemen, sometimes as more of a coach
After signing Staal, Tortorella, who also coached the defenseman in New York, said “he’s not going to get in the way of the kids, of us developing the kids,” and that he would be “an extension of the coaching staff with some of the youth.”
Staal was just that, helping mentor youngsters like Cam York, 23, Egor Zamula, 24, and Ronnie Attard, 25.
“He’s been through it all,” York said of Staal. “I remember watching him as a kid, so it’s kind of weird having him on my team now. He’s a great guy off the ice, and you can just tell he’s been in the league a while and just knows what to do at all times.”
In March, Attard said: “He’s super helpful. If he sees something that can help me out, he’s very vocal and communicates with me. He’s just an awesome guy.”
Associate coach Brad Shaw added that having veterans like Staal and Erik Johnson helped him do his job running the defense.
“I think it helps on the bench, especially between shifts,” Shaw said. “There’s usually a lot of communication — usually the older guy doing most of the talking, which is good. I think that allows them to ask questions and grow without having to hear from a coach all the time. The guys in the tracksuits, we can say it 100 times, and if your teammate says it once, it usually resonates a little bit more.”