page_title: Marc Staal
section_title: Professional
hierarchical_section_title: Marc Staal / Playing career / Professional
caption_attribution_description: Marc Staal
context_page_description: Marc Staal is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League. He is the younger brother of Eric Staal of the Minnesota Wild, and the older brother of Jordan Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes, and Jared Staal. Of the four brothers, Marc is the only defenceman, as well as the only one who has never played for the Hurricanes.
context_section_description: On October 4, 2007, Staal made his National Hockey League debut for the New York Rangers, as well as for Head Coach Tom Renney, who would use him in that first season primarily in a defensive role. Staal would record his first NHL point against the Washington Capitals on November 1, 2007, when Chris Drury deflected his shot in for a goal, earning Staal an assist. Staal scored his first NHL goal on November 14, 2007, against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center. His wrist shot from the left faceoff circle sailed over the outstretched glove of goaltender Martin Brodeur and deflected in off the crossbar. Assisting on his first goal in the NHL were teammates Scott Gomez and Brendan Shanahan. During 2007–08, Staal was one of 16 rookies selected to participate in the YoungStars competition at the 2008 NHL All-Star Game in Atlanta, where he scored a goal and added an assist. Staal finished his rookie season with ten points on the strength of two goals and eight assists; he also established himself as a reliable defender, posting a positive plus/minus rating at +2, as the Rangers qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs. He saved his best for the playoffs, with his first NHL playoff goal and two assists to help the Rangers defeat the Devils in five games during the Eastern Conference Quarter-finals. The goal was important — in the pivotal Game 4, Staal's slapper broke a 3–3 deadlock late in the third period and stood to be the game-winning goal in a 5–3 victory that gave the Rangers a 3–1 lead in the series. Like his first regular season goal, it also came against Martin Brodeur. However, despite their win over the Devils in the Conference Quarter-finals, the Rangers would fall to his younger brother Jordan’s team, the eventual Stanley Cup runner-up Pittsburgh Penguins, in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals.
  In 2008–09, Staal improved his offensive output to 15 points, scoring three goals and adding 12 assists, all career highs. He returned to the YoungStars Competition as a sophomore at the 2009 NHL All-Star Game in Montreal, and scored two goals. Late in the season, a coaching change led to a more offensive philosophy designed to propel the Rangers into the playoffs. The defensive-minded Tom Renney was replaced by John Tortorella, who encouraged more offence from all of his players, including Staal. As a result, much of Staal's production came toward the end of the season; 6 of his 15 points came after the coaching change, in just 21 games (as opposed to nine in 61 under Renney). The Rangers would again qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs on the strength of their strong finish, but this time were defeated in the first round by the Washington Capitals in seven games after blowing a 3–1 series lead. During the series, Staal would record his second career NHL playoff goal.
  In the summer of 2009, Marc and his brothers Eric and Jordan were invited to try out for a Team Canada roster spot for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. However, when the team was named on December 30, 2009, Eric was the only Staal named to the squad.
  In his third NHL season, Staal began to transition into more of a two-way role for the Rangers during 2009–10 as the development of his offence continued under John Tortorella. Staal enjoyed the first four-game point streak of his career (one goal and three assists). Though the Rangers would miss the playoffs for the first time in Staal's career, he would establish new career highs with eight goals, 19 assists, 27 points and a career-best +11 rating during the season. He saved his finest for late in the year, scoring a beautiful, coast-to-coast goal against Florida Panthers goaltender Scott Clemmensen on April 3, 2010, after receiving the puck from teammate Henrik Lundqvist in the defensive zone. For Staal, it capped a three-game goal-scoring streak and ignited a Rangers comeback in an eventual 4–1 victory that kept the Rangers' playoff hopes alive. The team missed the playoffs on the final day of the season, however, losing 2–1 in a shootout to the Philadelphia Flyers, who took the eighth and final 
caption: Staal with the Rangers in January 2011, his fourth season in the NHL
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