What to do with Marc Staal

A must keep.

When we last checked in on Marc Staal, he was rumored to be looking for a Dan Girardi contract, roughly $5.5 million over six years. The cost isn’t that big of a deal with a rising cap, and the term is fine by me since Staal is just 28 years old (34 when that contract would expire). Sure, having two contract like that might be harmful, but Staal is a top-four defender, and that’s what they get nowadays.

It’s highly unlikely the Rangers will play out the entire season without a deal in place for Staal. Like Girardi and Ryan Callahan last year, the Rangers will work to get a deal done, and if they aren’t close, will trade Staal at the deadline. It’s not a guarantee, but last year set the precedent that the Rangers will not let their top guys leave for nothing. But that hasn’t stopped the Marc Staal rumors from cirulating, from trade to re-sign to letting him walk.

This year, the Rangers are starting the negotiations much earlier than they did with Girardi and Callahan in an attempt to keep him. There’s already rumors floating around –nothing really confirmed– that the two sides aren’t that far off. Staal’s injury history, albeit freak injuries, are probably why the Rangers wouldn’t want to commit to five years. That’s just my thought process, nothing on that is really confirmed (Please note: I’m saying nothing confirmed twice, this is just me speculating and thinking).

One thing both sides would like to avoid: A public negotiation that takes place midseason. It happened with both Girardi and Callahan, and led to some backlash against both sides. If there were any lessons to be learned from last year, it’s to handle this stuff quickly and painlessly.

Staal is a leader in the locker room and on the ice, it’s been quite obvious since he was given the ‘A’. We still want to see if his puck possession success last year was because he was paired with Anton Stralman, but being paired with Dan Boyle isn’t exactly peanuts either. That pair gives a solid balance of offensive skill and defensive prowess. If no deal is in place by the start of the season, that performance with Boyle will be on the forefront of everyone’s minds.

Defensive depth may be a bit of a concern for the Rangers, as their best option to replace Staal –Brady Skjei– isn’t signed and is still a question-mark for next season. John Moore, at the moment, is not ready for top-four minutes, and it’s very clear the organization isn’t as high on Conor Allen as the fans. Staal, like it or not, is a must-keep for this club.