New York Rangers: Removing Marc Staal’s Free Pass

As the New York Rangers look to find the optimal defensive pairings, Marc Staal remains a steady member of the blue-line. Should that be the case?

Once the New York Rangers acquired Brendan Smith at the NHL Trade Deadline and failed to move any defensemen off of the NHL roster, they sent a signal. Battles for playing time on the blue-line would begin.

Due to injuries to Dan Girardi, Kevin Klein, and Ryan McDonagh, the battles haven’t been hectic yet. Despite hosting eight defensemen (Adam Clendening, Nick Holden, Girardi, Klein, McDonagh, Brady Skjei, Smith, and Staal) the Rangers have had few games in which all defensemen were available to play.

Thus, we have not yet seen Alain Vigneault choose between his entire stable of defensemen. However, the expectation is when Vigneault does have those options, he will bench Adam Clendening consistently, then choose one of Dan Girardi or Kevin Klein to sit.

While Nick Holden deserves consideration for a benching as well, one over-paid Ranger regularly flies under the radar as a potential scratch. Marc Staal.

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Staal’s season is in line with his recent seasons, failing to impress. Staal’s seen his Scoring Chances For Percentage rise significantly, but otherwise he remains a liability in the possession game. Defensively, Staal leaves plenty to be desired.

The long-time Rangers’ defenseman’s speed disappeared like he was The Flash being zapped of powers, while questions of whether or not he has been the same since his eye injury and concussions. Staal’s greatest asset in the past was his penalty killing abilities, but he has not looked particularly impressive there, either.

Considering Staal’s numbers look less than impressive, one must wonder why he holds a guaranteed spot on the blue-line. The veteran presence aspect doesn’t work, as the other options all boast regular NHL time besides Clendening and Skjei. The lefty/righty aspect fails to work, as the Rangers own flexibility in that regard.

Staal’s regular spot deserves to be up for grabs, just like Holden, Girardi, and Klein’s spots deserve to be.

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What’s The New York Rangers’ Plan?

When the playoffs arrive, three defensemen must have guaranteed lineup spots. Ryan McDonagh, Brady Skjei, and Brendan Smith must not leave the lineup no matter what. While Adam Clendening deserves this honor, Alain Vigneault will not make that call.

With that in mind, the Rangers’ defense looks like this:

Ryan McDonagh-Brendan Smith

Brady Skjei-?

?-?

You may wonder how a playoff teams’ defense can look like that. Consider the Rangers’ offense. They simply work to outscore their own teams’ defense. Also, consider:

Of course, the Rangers must fill out the rest of their defensive lineup. We will dive deeper into this in the coming weeks, but the idea is simple. Adam Clendening, Dan Girardi, Nick Holden, Kevin Klein, and Marc Staal battle for the three vacant spots on defense.

While currently it appears Girardi and Klein are battling for one spot, expanding the competition maximizes the potential of everyone involved. Additionally, Staal earns extra rest after playing in a boatload of games in the past few seasons/post-seasons.

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Marc Staal cannot be exempt from scratching. His play does not warrant it, and the team needs the best defense possible in order to succeed.