Blue Line Station
Fansided

Looking at the Seven Former Rangers in the Eastern Conference Finals

By Conor Power

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 09: Chris Drury #23 of the New York Rangers skates against the New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden on April 9, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 09: Chris Drury #23 of the New York Rangers skates against the New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden on April 9, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 8
Next
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 01: Tyler Pitlick #18 of the Philadelphia Flyers is checked by Marc Staal #18 of the New York Rangers during the third period at Madison Square Garden on March 01, 2020, in New York City. The Flyers defeated the Rangers 5-3. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 01: Tyler Pitlick #18 of the Philadelphia Flyers is checked by Marc Staal #18 of the New York Rangers during the third period at Madison Square Garden on March 01, 2020, in New York City. The Flyers defeated the Rangers 5-3. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Marc Staal

When it comes to iconic members of the New York Rangers, you will not think of Marc Staal. He’s not a flashy player. He was a stable force on the back end and a reliable defender. Marc played for the Blueshirts for 13 years and still to this day is 6th in all-time appearances for the Rangers. He was an incredibly useful serviceman to this team and a lot of people still love him for what he did in New York.

In 892 NHL games with the New York Rangers, Marc Staal scored 43 goals and 145 assists for 188 points. That was not what he was paid to do in New York. He was paid to be a defensive rock and he did that for the Rangers. He was paid to be a leader and he did that too. He was always willing to do whatever it took for the success of this New York Rangers team and he’s still doing that in Florida.

At 35, Marc isn’t what he used to be. But he’s still playing in the Panthers’ top four on the blueline and they’ve gotten this far so perhaps I know nothing about hockey. He’s shown that he can play major minutes at his age and not be a liability. If that’s all the Panthers need him to do, then he’s going to do whatever it takes to win as he always has done. He is the ultimate competitor and will do anything to win.

Marc is the only one of his brothers to play more than 100 NHL games and not have a Stanley Cup Ring as 2014 just did not end the way everyone wanted it to. He’ll be gunning for his first ring, and if he gets it, who knows? Maybe he’ll consider hanging up the skates and walking away as a champion. Maybe he’ll want to go for a second ring. Either way, you know he’s going to be trying to do everything it takes.

Home/History