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New York Rangers Walking the Line With Blueliner Marc Staal

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Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Amidst the wave of success covering the ice at The World’s Most Famous Arena lays a contract rift between the New York Rangers’ front office and Marc Staal. The Blueshirts’ blueliner is playing out the final year of his deal as talks between the two camps have stalled. But then again, anxious contract extensions have become an annual occurrence in Rangerstown.

Just last season, the Rangers failed to sign restricted free agent Derek Stepan prior to training camp. As a result, the Blueshirts’ No. 1 center was forced to hold out for almost all of the preseason. Stepan struggled, as he did not gain his form for nearly a month.

While the team languished up the middle, three core Rangers, Henrik Lundqvist, Dan Girardi and Ryan Callahan, saw their contract talks linger into the season. Although Lundqvist received an extension last December, making him the richest goalie in the NHL, the King scuffled through the early part of the season. The slow start was widely attributed to the stress and agitation brought on by the negotiating process.

Girardi signed just following the Olympic Break for six years and $33 million, and the deal quelled the Girardi distraction. Rumors had swelled in the Big Apple for nearly two months, the most potent and logical one involving the Blueshirts shipping their steady blueliner off to Boston to form a shutdown duo with Zdeno Chara.

When Girardi signed, the ‘Daily News’ ran a headline that said, “One Down, One to Go!” The phrase not only referred to the deals themselves, but the melodramas that loomed over the team. That circus-like atmosphere surrounded Callahan until the day of the deadline, when Glen Sather finally pulled the trigger, sending his captain to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Martin St. Louis.

One would have hoped that Sather learned from last year, but then again, history tends to repeat itself. The Garden Faithful once again must listen to a new tune of the same old song. As this year’s trade deadline approaches, it is Staal who finds himself nestled in the hot seat; he has handled the growing chaos with grace by playing the best hockey of his career.

He was invaluable during last year’s run to the Stanley Cup. Without a healthy Ryan McDonagh for the first two rounds, Staal helped form a second shutdown defense pairing with Anton Stralman. The 12th Pick in the 2005 NHL Draft scored one goal and had four assists, logging an astounding 546 minutes (an average of a whopping 21:49 per game) in a an epic 2014 playoff run. Against the Pittsburgh Penguins, it was Staal who silenced Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Crosby and many other Penguins were frustrated by Staal’s sensational stick work and physical play. Although Alec Martinez put a sudden halt to the dream of a Stanley Cup, Staal’s exceptional play on hockey’s biggest stage only further increased his value.

Staal has answered the bell of imminent free agency by posting a career first half. With a flurry of injuries at season’s outset, he played with multiple defensive partners. Through it all, Staal has been the constant and irreplaceable man in front of Lundqvist. Knowing this, Staal’s camp is looking for the Rangers to reciprocate with a six-year deal worth $6 million annually. While there is little doubt that Staal could receive more on the open market, the $6 million would surpass Girardi as the highest paid Blueshirt blueliner.  It also eclipses the $5.5 million earned by both Matt Carle (six years, $33 million by Tampa two years ago) and Brooks Orpik (five years, $27.5 million by the Washington Capitals last summer).

The drama continues to build with each passing day, and as well as he is playing, even Staal is affected. “You can say all you want that it’s not on your mind and it’s not a distraction, but it’s something that has to weigh on you,” Staal told the ‘New York Post’.

Sather has to pay up, give Staal the money he deserves, and keep the Stanley Cup Dream alive. Adversely, trading Staal at the deadline will eliminate the Rangers from Stanley Cup contention. The Blueshirts have built their success around an all-world goaltender in Lundqvist and two lines of shutdown defense. Without Staal, the team’s foundation will be decimated.

Adam Feld is a Rangers writer for www.RantSports.com.  Follow him on Twitter @trublunyblog.  Like him on facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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