After a 17-year NHL playing career, defenseman Marc Staal has retired and will be transitioning into a player development assistant position with the New York Rangers organization.

Staal, 37, was originally a 2005 first-round pick of the Rangers and spent 13 years on Broadway. The stay-at-home blueliner played heavy minutes in New York, including averaging a career-high 25:44 per game during the 2010-11 season. This also happened to be the same year he put up career-high offensive numbers, tallying 29 points in 77 games. His over a decade run with the Rangers included several trips to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including a deep run in 2013-14.

The Thunder Bay, ON native would eventually be dealt by the Rangers to the Detroit Red Wings prior to the 2020-21 season. After two years with the Red Wings, Staal joined the Florida Panthers where he enjoyed playing alongside his brother Eric. This was the second time the brothers played together at the NHL level, after Eric joined the Rangers back in 2015-16. Staal would then cap off his decorated career appearing in 35 games last year with the Philadelphia Flyers, recording five points and averaging just under 14 minutes of ice-time per game.

The 6-foot-4 defenseman hangs up the skates after dressing in an impressive 1136 NHL regular season games, scoring 53 goals and recording 234 points. He also enjoyed 128 Stanley Cup Playoff games, chipping in with 20 postseason points. Staal was a penalty-killing wizard and had a knack for clearing out the front of the net and utilizing his defensive IQ to ensure he’s properly positioned defensively.

It makes a ton of sense to see Staal transition into a development coach as he was fundamentally sound throughout his playing days. Staal will be heavily invovled with the development of Rangers’ blueline prospects throughout the organization, including at the American Hockey League level with the Hartford Wolf Pack.