Staal seeking one more fun NHL season in Philly
It’s the time of year when big money free agents talk to the media covering their new teams about how they’ve come here to help the club win a championship.
Then there’s the Flyers and well-regarded veteran defenseman Marc Staal.
Why did he come here again?
“I’ve competed against the Flyers for a lot of years, and from the guys that have played there that I talked to, everyone has really spoken highly of the organization,” Staal, the 36-year-old defenseman, said Wednesday. “So that was an easy fit.”
Adding to it was the presence was head coach John Tortorella, who despite what some people may think of him, played a part in Staal wanting to join the Flyers via a 1-year, $1.1 million free agency deal Monday. Tortorella was the head coach during five of Staal’s 13 seasons with the New York Rangers. Staal added Philadelphia’s close proximity to his family home in Connecticut was also a reason.
“It’s an easy commute for my family to see me more than they would have in other cities,” Staal said. “And the opportunity to compete and play again, it just seemed right. It wasn’t a very hard decision when the feeling was mutual and it came together pretty quickly.”
Yet it remained pretty surprising that Staal, the middle brother of the trio (with 38-year-old Eric and 34-year-old Jordan) that have each played more than 1,100 NHL games, would go in the space of a few weeks from a trip to the Stanley Cup finals with the Florida Panthers to a contract with the Flyers, who appear multiple years away from competing for a playoff spot.
“Playing in this league is a ton of fun and being able to come there and enjoy it with a bunch of new guys, that are excited to get building and get winning … that opportunity and that feeling in the room is always exciting,” Staal said. “I’m just happy to be a part of it.
“I think sometimes the mentor thing, I wouldn’t say it’s overblown, but everyone that comes into the league has to figure out how they’re going to do it on their own. And every player is unique in how they prepare and how they go about their day. But leaning on older guys with questions for a variety of things that go on throughout the season, it’s nice to have that.”
Among those seemingly surprised at the good fortune of having Staal as an answer man with this year’s Flyers team was general manager Danny Briere, who waged a lot of wars against Staal and his Rangers while the GM played for the Flyers. While talking about the signing on Monday, he said Staal, “wants to help out.
“He’s going to play hard and he’s going to try to push our guys,” Briere added, “… kind of like what he did in Florida, which I think is great.”
Staal played last season for the Panthers at the NHL minimum (then $750,000). He wound up being one of
the steadiest and busiest of defenders during the season, playing some 18 minutes a night in all 82 games. Then came a postseason run in which he played some 21 minutes per game and playing in every game right up through a Stanley Cup final loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.
“It was a year where I didn’t really know what to expect going in, kind of like what it’s going to be this year,” Staal said. “I went in just wanting to play a role and compete every day and ended up carving out a nice (spot) … playing a lot of minutes, and we really started to get rolling in the last month. It was a ton of fun getting on a run like that, and a heartbreaking ending, obviously. It was really hard going all that way again and coming up short, but I got a ton of great memories and had a ton of fun playing as much as I did and getting as far as we did.
“I enjoyed every minute of it.”
Briere said he wouldn’t stand in Staal’s way if the veteran had a chance next spring to be traded to a
playoff contender, saying he had “too much respect” for Staal to do that.
“I’ll just bring what I do each day and be an example for the guys and how to approach the day to day life of being in the NHL,” Staal said. “They have a lot of guys that have a lot of experience already. So just go and compete.
“I think the biggest thing for any veteran guy who has competed for a long time is coming to the rink and putting the work in and competing 100 percent on the ice, every day at practice, every game, and just showing that example every day and enjoying what you’re doing.”
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The Flyers Wednesday signed a pair of defensemen to two-year contracts, with Ronnie Attard inking a two-year, $1.7 million contract and Victor Mete signing a one-year deal at the $775,000 minimum.
Attard, 24, scored 12 goals and 32 points for the Phantoms last season while Mete split time last season between the Toronto Maple Leafs and their AHL affiliate Marlies.