Marc Staal retired from the NHL on Thursday after 17 seasons and joined the New York Rangers as a player development assistant.
The 37-year-old defenseman played his first 13 seasons for the Rangers after he was chosen in the first round (No. 12) of the 2005 NHL Draft. His 892 regular-season games are sixth in team history behind Harry Howell (1,160), Brian Leetch (1,129), Rod Gilbert (1,065), Ron Greschner (981) and Walt Tkaczuk (945). Staal is also second in Rangers history in blocked shots (1,162), trailing Dan Girardi (1,691).
He played 107 Stanley Cup Playoff games, third among Rangers skaters to Chris Kreider (123) and Girardi (122).
In his new role, Staal will be working with defensemen throughout the organization.
Staal helped the Rangers to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final, a five-game loss to the Los Angeles Kings. He was traded to the Detroit Red Wings with a second-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft for future considerations on Sept. 26, 2020, and played his 1,000th NHL game with Detroit, a 3-0 loss to the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on March 12, 2022. It made Marc, Eric Staal and Carolina Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal the first three brothers in NHL history to each achieve the milestone.
Marc Staal played 35 games for the Philadelphia Flyers last season (one goal, four assists) after helping the Florida Panthers reach the 2023 Stanley Cup Final, a five-game loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. He had 234 points (53 goals, 181 assists) and was plus-52 in 1,136 regular-season games and had 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) in 128 playoff games, all but 21 with the Rangers.
Eric Staal announced his retirement Aug. 6 after 18 NHL seasons.
