Marc Staal

New York Rangers trade D Marc Staal to Detroit

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New York Rangers, Marc Staal

The New York Rangers announced today that the team has traded Marc Staal and a second-round pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for future considerations.

Staal skated in 892 career games with the Rangers over 13 seasons (2007-08 – 2019-20), registering 43 goals and 145 assists for 188 points, along with a plus-46 rating and 432 penalty minutes. He ranks sixth on the franchise’s all-time games played list, trailing only Harry Howell (1,160), Brian Leetch (1,129), Rod Gilbert (1,065), Ron Greschner (981), and Walt Tkaczuk (945).

President John Davidson had the to say of the 13-year veteran, 

“Marc Staal has been an exemplary hockey player, teammate, and person from the moment he joined the New York Rangers organization,” Rangers President and Alternate Governor John Davidson said. “A consummate professional, Marc’s perseverance and dedication to the game made him such an integral part of our organization. Marc, his wife Lindsay, and his children Anna, Emily, and Jack will always be a part of the Rangers family, and we wish them all the best going forward.”

General manager Jeff Gorton also appreciated Staal’s time on Broadaway saying,

“I would like to thank Marc for everything he has given to the New York Rangers during his 13 seasons with the team,” Rangers General Manager Jeff Gorton said. “The success we had throughout Marc’s tenure, including a trip to the Stanley Cup Final, would not have been possible without his tireless efforts on and off the ice. The respect we have for Marc is immeasurable, and we wish him and his family all the best.”

Staal served as one of the Rangers’ alternate captains for 10 seasons (2010-11 – 2019-20). Since the Rangers/NHL began to have players wear an ‘A’ on their jersey as an alternate captain during the 1985-86 season and he was one of only three players who have either worn a ‘C’ or an ‘A’ as captain or an alternate captain with the Rangers for 10 or more seasons. The only other two Rangers who have done so over the span are Brian Leetch (13 seasons – alternate captain from 1991-92 – 1996-97; 2000-01 – 2003-04, and captain from 1997-98 – 1999-00) and Mark Messier (10 seasons – captain from 1991-92 – 1996-97; 2000-01 – 2003-04).

Staal was entering the final year of his contract and was slated to make $5.7 million. He will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of next season.

The Thunder Bay, Ontario native was originally selected by the Rangers in the first round, 12th overall, of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

 

Takeaways From the New York Rangers Playoff Loss to Carolina

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New York Rangers, Artemi Panarin

Nobody really likes the phrase “a good loss” or something related to that and most in the New York Ranger organization probably subscribes to that. But there are lessons to be learned that can be used moving forward, for a team that is very young and talented.

Another thing that the Blueshirts and their fans will also realize is that despite beating the Hurricanes all four times in the regular season, Carolina is a really good hockey team. The team that made the conference finals last season is mostly intact. The Canes did a great job of being good with the lead, and who made it really difficult for the Blueshirts to get any kind of offense going.

Head coach David Quinn even said “The better team won the series. Let’s call a spade a spade. You played three games and the best team won.”

The top players on the New York Rangers needed to play better

The Rangers only scored four goals in three playoff games. One each by Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, and Marc Staal. Team leaders need to step in the playoffs, especially with a roster that has so much youth and inexperience on it.

Kreider knows this and at least stepped up and admitted as much. In his post-game comments, he said: “We thought the playoffs were a blood sport and we were out there running around looking to hit instead of playing the puck possession style that we play. A big part of that is on me obviously. We needed to snap out of that sooner. We needed to acknowledge that. I should have done whatever I could to get us on the right track there.”

Even as tough as the Hurricanes played, the Rangers only scored one goal on the power-play, and that was on a two man-down situation for Carolina. They were completely shut out on the 5-on-4 power plays, not to mention being completely smothered in 5-on-5 situations.

This lack of production from top players led a Rangers team that did not play smart or efficiently, and did not play the way they played before the season was paused.

The New York Rangers should be happy with the improved play of Kaapo Kakko

The 19-year-old made a nice impression as soon as he stepped on the ice when summer camp began.

“I feel like he feels much more comfortable coming back,’’ said teammate Jesper Fast. “You see he’s smiling, he’s happy — I mean, like it’s a new energy for him. The way he’s been looking so far this camp . . . he’s looking real sharp. He looks strong on the puck, and [he] had a good scrimmage, so after that giving him more confidence going forward.’’

That confidence carried forward into the three playoff games. Kakko played the most five-on-five minutes of any Rangers forward in Saturday’s 3-2, Game 1 defeat to the Hurricanes, his 12:51 clocking in at 65 seconds more than  Panarin. He appeared to have more “hop in his step” then he had during the regular season.

The expectations were high for Kakko, and somewhat unrealistic, after he was chosen second overall in the NHL Draft last summer. The 6-3, 199-pounder led Finland to the gold medal in the World Junior Championships in 2019, scored 22 goals in 45 games as a 17-year-old in Finland’s professional league, and helped Finland win the World Championship tournament.

The pause seemed to refresh Kakko, who just turned 19 in February. While much of the world was on lockdown in April and May, he was able to work out and skate back home in Finland. The benefits have been obvious and hopefully continues into next season.

But for now, the Rangers will step back and evaluate their team in preparation for next season, whenever that takes place.

 

 

 

 

 

Three Takeaways From the New York Rangers Loss to the Islanders

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New York Rangers, Kaapo Kakko

The New York Rangers really needed to kick off the rust last night in their 2-1 loss to their cross-town rival Islanders. The lack of game of real game sharpness and the style the Islanders play made for a very frustrating night for the Blueshirts. However, there are some positives that came out of this contest.

The New York Rangers know that Carolina and the Isles play very different styles

The clogging, suffocating defensive style that the Islanders play has always given the Rangers some issues. The Blueshirts usually play better against faster teams and even the tougher teams. But teams that are good at clogging the neutral zone make it tough for the Rangers to get their transition game going.

Post-game, head coach David Quinn thought they got frustrated as the game went on, that their transition game stalled and they got bottled up a little bit in the neutral zone.

Another thing that makes it tough is when a team has to spend a lot of time killing off penalties. In the first period, the Rangers spent three and a half consecutive minutes of the first period killing penalties, including 33 seconds of five-on-three. They did a really good job of killing penalties, but it means that you spend less time getting your offense going, against the team that excels at stifling offensive production. This is was really the main reason why Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad did not look good, something that Quinn is not expecting on Saturday.

Kaapo Kakko looks much improved coming off the break

One of the more pleasant surprises in last night’s game was the play of forward Kaapo Kakko. For many games during the season, Kakko was criticized for hesitating, or passing the puck, instead of shooting it. Not last night. Kakko was aggressive with his shots including the time when he came out of the penalty box, made a little move against an Islander defender, and got off a good shot that was stopped.  Kakko also got a few shifts on the Artemi Panarin-Ryan Strome line in place of Jesper Fast.

Quinn told the media after the game that Kakko won’t start in the top six on Saturday, but it is a possibility if he’s trying to get some different looks.

The New York Rangers defense looked a little different

Many in Rangers nation celebrated the fact that former defensive assistant Lindy Ruff took a head coaching job in New Jersey, as Ruff was the brunt of much frustration when the Rangers defense broke down in the season.

In his post-game media availability, Jacob Trouba talked about the effect that Gord Murphy has had on the defense. “Obviously, Gord’s here now and Lindy moved on so that’s a little bit of a different voice. PK is something we went over a lot the last week or so.” Trouba said. “A little bit of a different feel. It was nice to get some practice in today because there are a couple of changes with a different voice leading the way.”

Speaking of the defense, Marc Staal had a minor injury but was held out due to precautionary measures. Quinn expects him to play Saturday in game one against the Hurricanes.

Hockey is Almost Back as the New York Rangers Prepare to Play the Islanders in an Exhibition Game

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The New York Rangers have arrived at their bubble in Toronto.

The NHL announced that they have had zero positive tests out of 4,256 given.

It looks like we will see summer hockey starting on Wednesday when the Rangers face their cross-town rival Islanders. Puck drop is set for 7 pm, with the game being televised on the MSG Network. This game will not only give us a taste of what we can expect from the Blueshirts after a four-month layoff but also what the game experience will be like without fans in the stands.

How will the New York Rangers treat this Exhibition Game?

This game will probably look more like a regular-season game than most of your typical exhibitions. With only one game to play before the playoffs, coaches and players will need to use this game to get back, as closely as possible, to how they were playing for the pause.

The players are mentally more than ready. In Sunday’s media availability, Marc Staal said: “Now that the day is here, everyone’s pretty excited. The energy around the room was giddy and guys were excited to get here. I think everyone’s itching to play competitive hockey again.”

Head coach David Quinn summed it up in one little sentence: “We are here to win.”

That mindset will start with Wednesday’s game.

Just in case you need to get caught up, here are the expected lines for tonight’s game and possibly going into the playoffs.

Chris Kreider-Mika Zibanejad-Pavel Buchnevich
Artemi Panarin-Ryan Strome-Jesper Fast
Phil Di Giuseppe-Filip Chytil-Kaapo Kakko
Brett Howden-Greg McKegg-Julien Gauthier
Brendan Smith-Jacob Trouba
Ryan Lindgren-Adam Fox
Marc Staal-Tony DeAngelo

Power play 1:
Zibanejad, Panarin, Kreider, Strome, DeAngelo.
Power play 2:
Buchnevich, Kakko, Chytil, Fox, Trouba

PK forwards:
Zibanejad-Fast
Howden-Strome
Di Giuseppe-McKegg

PK defensemen:
Lindgren-Staal
Smith-Trouba.

Igor Shesterkin is expected to make the start, but many are thinking that Henrik Lundqvist may see some time in net. On the other hand, the Rangers will probably get to see Seymon Varlamov for the entire game. The NHL will allow and Forward and Defenseman for this game, but only two goaltenders.

On Monday, the Rangers practiced at the Ford Performance Centre, a four-rink complex where the Maple Leafs and Marlie’s train, as they start experiencing what life will be like in their bubble facilities.

 

 

 

A few New York Rangers show the love for nurses treating COVID-19 patients

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New York Rangers

The New York Rangers organization has been saluting the many first responders that have been helping fellow New Yorkers throughout this horrific ordeal. They organized the interview to talk about how each of them has dealt with dealing with the virus.

A few of the players surprised four nurses during a virtual interview to tell them how much they appreciate all they have done to help patients during this tough time.

The Nurses were told they were going to do an interview discussing their time dealing with the global pandemic. Coincidently they all happen to be New York Rangers fans so it was no surprise that the conversation turned to the Blueshirts with stories of their memories of great times watching the team play in happier times.

That’s when the nurses received a surprise they so richly deserved.  Ryan Strome, Chris Kreider, and Marc Staal crashed the virtual interview to the surprise of the nurses.

Each of the players spoke to the nurses praising all they have done to help people battling with this silent killer.

Ryan Strome might have said it best, telling the nurses “a lot of us feel really hopeless a times because you can’t really do anything about it, but you guys are able to do that, and not just for us, I think everyone is very appreciative,” as was told to Pat Pickens of NHL.com

Strome, speaking for al three players, then invited the nurses to a Rangers game at the Garden once things get back to normal.

Pretty amazing what a simple video conversation can do to raise morale for both the players and the nurses.