The Detroit Red Wings are bringing back an experienced veteran, re-signing Marc Staal to a one-year contract. Staal was scheduled for unrestricted free agency on Wednesday. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports that the deal is worth $2M and includes a full no-movement clause.
Staal, 34, ended up in Detroit as part of a cap dump by the New York Rangers last fall, arriving along with a second-round pick for nothing more than future considerations. While the veteran defenseman wasn’t worth his full $5.7M cap hit, he had a quietly strong season for the Red Wings. Now at 948 games played for his career, Staal should get over the 1,000-game mark next season, joining older brother Eric Staal and younger brother Jordan Staal. There have been a few more injuries along the way for the 6-4 defenseman, and he may not get quite as many accolades as his brothers. It’s still been a remarkable career.
Perhaps his most memorable moments came in New York during the 2012 and 2014 playoffs, when he reached the conference and then Stanley Cup Finals with the Rangers. Part of an incredibly tough trio of defensemen with Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi, Staal was relied on for heavy minutes every night. Over his career, that’s been his calling card, as the offensive side never did really materialize. In 948 career games, Staal has recorded 198 points.
For the Red Wings, he can provide a steady hand to put in the lineup every night, insulating the young options who are still developing. The team now has three veteran options in Staal, Nick Leddy and Danny DeKeyser, each signed only through the 2021-22 season. Should they want to, the Red Wings could likely find a contender for each of them at the deadline and recoup even more future assets for the rebuild.
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