New York Rangers 16-17 Report Cards: Marc Staal
After having the worst season of his NHL career defensively, Marc Staal was just as bad in 16-17 for the New York Rangers.
Coming into the season, most people expected Marc Staal to play at least a little bit better than he did in the previous season. Staal had the worst statistical season of his career from a defensive standpoint in 15-16. After all, he had played 80 postseason games–just about a full regular season–over the previous five years, so maybe his declined play was just a case of tired legs.
The season started off pretty well for Staal in 16-17. He looked a bit more comfortable on the defensive end and wasn’t a complete liability with the puck in the early going, even though his defensive partner Nick Holden struggled a bit out of the gate. Sure, he wasn’t the Marc Staal of old, but at least he looked like an NHL defenseman.
And then the wheels fell off the bus.
It’s hard to pinpoint the exact moment where Staal reverted back to the 15-16 version, but it came hard and fast, probably only a month or two into the season. Staal would nearly always find himself in situations where the other team would outskate him on the forecheck and control the play. There were too many instances where his defensive pair was pinned in their own zone for extended stretches of play.
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Staal and Holden’s defensive issues reared its ugly head when the playoffs rolled around.
Not that they should have been on the ice in the dying seconds of a hockey game to begin with, but when they were called upon in the clutch, they couldn’t deliver. They weren’t able to clear the puck out of the zone and were caught out of position way too often, allowing the opposition to score the late goal that would eventually give them the momentum they needed to win the game in overtime.
Stat comparisons
Staal’s offensive stats were minuscule as always. he tallied three goals and seven assists this season, the lowest point total he’s had in a full season since his rookie year. He has never been a guy that you would expect to put up a big point total, so that’s not what causes Rangers fans to worry.
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The big issue with Staal is the dropoff of his defensive play along with his poor puck possession numbers. Both his Corsi-for percentage (46.8) and his Corsi against/per60 (58.04) were slightly better than the numbers he put up the year before (45.3 CF% and 58.63 CA/60), but when you compare his production to that of a third pair defender, however, you’ll be very disappointed in what you’ll find.
According to Own the Puck’s Hero Charts, Staal’s first assists per hour, shots generated per hour and shots suppressed per hour numbers were below the level of production of a league average third pair defenseman. That doesn’t bode well for (A, his numbers going forward and (B, the potential for a team to trade for him.
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Staal has played himself into an awful position over the last two years and just like he has done on the ice, has pinned the Rangers into a really dangerous situation.