Transaction Analysis: Staal Adds Experience to Rebuilding Flyers

Amid the Philadelphia Flyers rebuilding process, the team added some veteran leadership to the front end with the two-year signing of Garnet Hathaway on July 1. Two days later, the team did something similar on the blueline with the signing of unrestricted free agent defenseman Marc Staal to a one-year, $1.1 million contract.

As with Hathaway, Staal's expected contributions will be almost as much about intangibles and leadership-by-example for the organization's young players as for his on-ice role.

Staal, 36, brings 1,101 games of NHL regular season experience (52 career goals, 229 points, 523 penalty minutes) and 128 career Stanley Cup playoff games to the table. Over his 16-season career, Staal has blocked 1,404 opposing shots (3.8 per 60 minutes) and doled out 1,612 hits (4.36 per 60 minutes) while averaging 20:07 of ice time per game. At even strength, he's a traditional plus-50 for his career. The 6-foot-4, 208-pound Staal has always been strong on the walls and in close quarters near the net.

A bit of a throwback to old-school defensive defensemen, Staal has logged a lot of mileage on his hockey career odometer. He's no longer the same upper-echelon shutdown defender he was in his prime with the New York Rangers. Nevertheless, Staal played effectively down the stretch last season for the Florida Panthers, who reached the Stanley Cup Final. Staal dressed in 21 playoff games, averaging 20:52 of ice time after logging an average 18:12 and appearing in all 82 regular season games.

Flyers general manager Danny Briere said on Monday that Staal, who played five seasons in New York under head coach John Tortorella, was not one of the players the Flyers initially considered among the candidate to "back fill" minutes on the blueline after the Ivan Provorov trade and projected subsequent subtraction. According to Briere, it's because the organization did not expect Staal to have interest in signing with the Flyers amid the current rebuild.

"We never thought that a player like Marc Staal would have any interest in coming here, so we were pretty excited when we found out that there was mutual interest," Briere said.

"I think it almost makes too much sense to add a guy like that who's played for Torts, understands what Torts is all about, is willing to kind of pass on that message. He's going to play hard. He's going to try to push our guys and play more and more and more, kind of like what he did in Florida, which I think is great to have."

Several days ago, Briere stated that he didn't want to "block" potential roster spaces and playing time for young players by stocking up on older veterans. He clarified that after the Hathaway and Staal signings by saying that, even in a rebuild, selected veterans are needed to help define for younger players the character and work ethic needed to achieve longevity. Moreover, as competitors, they set a bar for young players as they strive for ice time.

In the bigger picture, Briere said, he made clear to Staal that the team is going in the direction of giving opportunities and ice time for younger defensemen-- such as the no-longer waiver exempt Egor Zamula, incoming rookie hopeful Emil Andrae, and second full-season pro Ronnie Attard -- to earn.

"Marc understands that and he's on board with it," Briere said.

Being on a one-year deal, it is possible that Staal could be traded at the deadline for an asset. He does not have any no-trade protection (either full or partial) in his contract. Briere indicated, however, that when the time comes, Staal will be given a choice of staying put or chasing the Cup with a contender.

"If he feels like has enough in the tank and we're not making the playoffs, [if[ he'd like to go somewhere else to make another Cup run, we will try to accommodate him,' Briere said, adding that if Staal indicates a desire to stay, the team will keep him even there are trade offers around the deadline.