Marc Staal

**Marc Staal** (born on January 13, 1987 in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and alternate captain for the New York Rangers of the NHL.

Staal was drafted 12th overall by the Rangers in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

## Playing Career

### Early Playing Career

Marc grew up playing minor hockey in his hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario and was a minor hockey teammate of future NHLers Tom Pyatt, Ryan Parent and Taylor Chorney with the Thunder Bay Kings AAA program.

He was selected second overall in the 2003 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection by the Sudbury Wolves after a solid season with the Minor Midget Kings.

Marc played junior hockey from 2003 to 2007 for the Sudbury Wolves in the OHL, where he was the team's captain, leading the Wolves to their first trip to the OHL finals in 30 years. He was drafted by the New York Rangers in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft in the first round (12th overall).

While most NHL scouts had projected him to be a top-ten selection, Marc fell in the draft; the Rangers (who saw him available even after the 11th pick was made) made a draft day trade to move up.

In exchange for the Atlanta Thrashers' 12th overall selection (which they obtained from the San Jose Sharks), the Rangers dealt the Thrashers both its 16th and 41st picks.

He played for Team Canada in the 2006 and 2007 IIHF World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, bringing home gold medals both times. He was named the tournament's top defenceman in the 2006 Championships.

Marc and his younger brother, Jared played together in Sudbury during 2006–07 season.

On May 7, 2007, the OHL announced that was the recipient of the Max Kaminsky Trophy as the OHL's Most Outstanding Defenceman for the 2006–07 season; this prestigious award was previously won by future NHL players Chris Pronger, Al MacInnis and Denis Potvin.

On May 13, 2007, although his Sudbury team lost the OHL Championship Series to the Plymouth Whalers in six games, he was named the winner of the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award, which goes to the League's post-season most valuable player (MVP).

### Professional

On October 4, 2007, Marc made his NHL 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.

He 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 him an assist. He scored his first NHL goal on November 14, 2007, against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center.

Marc's 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 & Brendan Shanahan.

During the 2007–08 season, he was one of 16 rookies selected to participate in the YoungStars competition at the 2008 NHL All-Star Game in Atlanta, Georgia where he scored a goal and added an assist.

Marc 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. In Game 4, his 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 Marc's 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 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 Marc. As a result, much of his 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 & 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, he 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. he enjoyed the first four-game point streak of his career (one goal and three assists).

Although the Rangers would miss the playoffs for the first time in Marc's career, he would establish new career highs with eight goals, 19 assists, 27 points and a career-best +11 rating during the season.

Marc 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 Marc, 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.

However, the Rangers missed the playoffs on the final day of the season, losing 2–1 in a shootout to the Philadelphia Flyers, who took the eighth and final playoff spot from the Rangers. Marc led all Ranger skaters in ice time during the final game, on-ice for 29:16 of the game's 65 minutes and finished at +1.

In 2010, Marc became a restricted free agent for the first time. Although negotiations between his camp and Rangers General Manager Glen Sather were often slow, he signed a five-year, $19.875 million extension with the team on September 15, 2010.

After having a strong training camp, John Tortorella recognized his leadership qualities in October 2010 by naming him an alternate captain at the age of 23.

During the 2010–11 season, Marc was chosen for the first time to participate in the 2011 NHL All-Star Game in Raleigh, North Carolina.

During the game, he enjoyed a rare opportunity to play on the same team as his brother Eric, tying Kimmo Timonen of the Philadelphia Flyers for the most shorthanded goals among defencemen, with two.

On February 22, 2011, in a game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Marc was checked by his brother, Eric; Marc was looking down, fighting for the puck with another Hurricanes player when Eric came and threw a hard shoulder check and he was slow to get up. It was a legal check and Marc played for the rest of the season, setting career highs with 22 assists and 29 points.

However, it was revealed before the Rangers' 2011 training camp began that he was suffering from post-concussion symptoms, and did not play until January 2, 2012 in the 2012 NHL Winter Classic against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Marc only played 46 games in 2011–12, struggling to get his timing back from the injury as he posted a career worst −7 and only five points (two goals and three assists). He got better as the season went on and helped the Rangers reach the Eastern Conference Finals.

In Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Quarter-finals against the Washington Capitals, Marc scored a memorable overtime goal to give the Rangers a 3–2 win. After his teammate Brad Richards had scored a rebound goal with 6.6 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime, his powerplay slapshot from the point past Braden Holtby gave the Rangers a 3-2 win and a 3-2 series lead.

Marc continued his strong play during the 2012-13 season, averaging over 0.5 points per game for the first time in his career in his first 21 games; however, during a game against the Philadelphia Flyers on March 5, 2013, he sustained an injury after a slap-shot by Kimmo Timmonen was deflected byJakub Voracek into Marc's left eye, sending him to the ice.

After the game, it was revealed that Marc suffered a small retinal tear in his right eye and an orbital fracture; the injury effectively ended his season as he only played in one game the rest of the year. When he returned, he wore a visor for the first time in his career due to the nature of the injury.

In the 2013–14 season, Marc finally played a full season after his two injury-shortened seasons, with 72 regular season games and another 20 in the playoffs, helping the Rangers reach their first Stanley Cup Final in 20 years.

His point totals were modest (three goals and 11 assists for 14 points during the regular season, and one goal and four assists in the playoffs), as he focused primarily on staying healthy and re-establishing his solid defensive presence.

He was the third Staal brother to reach the Finals (after older brother Eric won in 2006 with the Hurricanes and younger brother Jordan was part of two consecutive finals with the Penguins in 2008 and 2009, winning the latter).

On October 5, 2019, Marc played in his 842nd career game with the Rangers, passing Vic Hadfield for seventh-most played games played games in franchise history.

## Personal Life

Marc is the son of Henry and Linda Staal, who work as sod farmers; he has three brothers: Eric, Jordan and Jared. All four of his grandparents were Dutch immigrants.

On August 12, 2011, he married his longtime girlfriend, Lindsay Ruggles; they have three children: daughters Anna & Emily, and son Jack.