Rangers, Marc Staal Close To 6-Year Deal
Can confirm initial report of Staal & #NYR nearing 6-year deal between $5.6-$5.9 million per season. Told completion of deal is “imminent”
— Pat Leonard (@PLeonardNYDN) January 16, 2015
With this (unofficial but imminent) signing, the Blueshirts have their “big three” blueliners locked up together through the 2018-19 season along with Kevin Klein through ’17-’18. Staal would leapfrog both Girardi & McDonagh as the highest paid NYR defenseman and apparently have a similar limited no-trade clause (full for first half of contract, partial for the rest). So this will be the defensive core in front of the King for the duration of his prime in pursuit of the greatest trophy in sports. It’s not a surprise Staal is staying put, but it does take about a quarter of the money they have to potentially re-sign other important pieces like Marty/Zucc (UFAs) and Stepan (RFA). Role players such as Stempniak, Hags, Hunwick & John Moore can also walk after this year. With Stepan most likely getting somewhere around Brassard money ($5m/year), it’ll be interesting to see how the rest shake out this off-season.
It’s a big payday for Staal – he’ll vault into the top-20 highest paid defensemen along with Girardi, & there’s not a lot of “defense-only” guys on that list. It’s either studs that contribute a ton of offense or just plain awful contracts (Myers, Orpik, Phaneuf), so it goes to show how much Slats values building from his anchor in Lundqvist on out. Once last season ended, I was a proponent of keeping Stralman for less & finding a deal for #18 but he’s rekindled the game I wasn’t sure he would after concussions & a busted eye socket. It’s the right move & nice to see a player stay the course through the Rangers‘ system to become part of the foundation of what hopes to be a championship team real soon.