Marc Staal's Contract with the New York Rangers Isn't Great but It's Fair

That’s too much money for Marc Staal.

That’s the general consensus about the potential six-year, $34.2 million contract the New York Rangers and Staal will likely consummate in the coming days, which was first reported by Larry Brooks of the New York Post. The 28-year-old Staal will be an unrestricted free agent July 1 without a new deal. 

First, there are the obvious criticisms of a deal that carries a $5.7 million cap hit for a defenseman who doesn’t do contribute much on offense. 

Staal doesn’t do all that much offensively. He has one goal and seven points in 41 games this season and eight goals total over the past four seasons, which is partially because he missed significant time with a concussion and eye injury, but mostly because he is not an offensive defenseman.

Staal averages eight seconds of power-play time per game, which is 49 seconds fewer than that of No. 7 defenseman Matt Hunwick.

Offensive inefficiencies aside, Staal is a defenseman, and there’s nothing wrong with paying significant money to a defenseman who is primarily used in a defensive role. 

The best way to define Staal is as the Rangers’ No. 3 defenseman, securely slotted behind fellow left-hander Ryan McDonagh and former regular partner Dan Girardi, who signed a similar six-year, $33 million deal in February 2014.

But based on even-strength ice time, Staal is the Rangers’ most frequently used blueliner at 19:26 per game, about a minute more than Girardi and 90 seconds more than McDonagh.

The problem for Staal and this contract is that the underlying numbers don’t exactly endorse him as a dominant defense-first defender.

Here’s a look at Staal’s possession numbers over the past four seasons.

Season	Fenwick	D-Zone FO %	Team Fenwick
2010-11	49.0	31.6	50.3
2011-12	46.5	31.6	49.4
2013	51.5	26.1	53.5
2013-14	53.5	32.6	52.6
2014-15	49.4	35.2	49.8

Not to bog this down with analytics, but two quick notes about those numbers:

• The Rangers' need to have Staal start shifts in his own zone declined over the years as McDonagh emerged as a clear No. 1, but that changed a bit this season with McDonagh (and Dan Boyle) missing significant time at the start of the season. Staal became the interim No. 1 defenseman, which meant less cushy assignments and poorer possession numbers.

• Staal's numbers were excellent last season, when he played almost exclusively on a second pairing with possession-driving machine Anton Stralman. There's a huge difference in Staal's numbers with and without Stralman on the ice, and it doesn't reflect well on Staal.

What does all this mean?

Jared Silber/Getty Images

It means, to me, anyway, that Staal is a perfectly OK, steady, ever-so-slightly above average NHL defenseman with a wealth (68 games) of postseason experience.

In a vacuum, it doesn't make much sense to pay someone of that ilk nearly $6 million per season when that someone will be 34 years old at the end of the contract. But hockey does not exist in a vacuum, as the dust and dirt would make the game impossible to play.

The Rangers are nearly devoid of young defenseman in their system who are ready to take over if Staal walked in free agency. In the early going, the Rangers' back end was decimated by injuries, which gave opportunities to Dylan McIlrath and Conor Allen, who could not have been worse in their brief showcase.

Maybe when training camp rolls around next season, one will have developed to the point where he can be trusted in a No. 6 role, but not the one inhabited by Staal.

The same criticism can be heaped on John Moore, who has had to fight with Hunwick for playing time, another strike against the idea that Staal could be replaced from within.

Hockey's Future lists Brady Skjei as the Rangers' top defensive prospect. The 20-year-old is a junior at the University of Minnesota and may have a future in the NHL, but the 28th pick in the 2012 draft won't be ripe for years. Beyond that, there's not much happening in the farm system that says anyone down there is anywhere close to being ready to rake the reins.

If the Rangers looked to replace Staal via the free-agent market, what could they have done?

Some of the top names that are scheduled to go to market but may not necessarily get there: Johnny Boychuk, Paul Martin, Mike Green, Andrej Sekera, Christian Ehrhoff, Johnny Oduya and Cody Franson. Only Franson is younger than Staal. Everyone else is older, except Sekera, who is also 28.

How many players on that list will be available July 1, would be willing to sign with the Rangers and would come at a similar price to Staal? Martin and Sekera have very similar career profiles to Staal, but there's no guarantee they'd come to New York.

By signing Staal, the Rangers will have McDonagh, Girardi, Staal and Kevin Klein under contract through the 2017-18 season, and that type of cost and roster certainty is important to NHL teams. When Boyle's contract expires after next season, that will very likely be the Rangers' top-four defense group.

The Staal contract isn't ideal, but it's the going rate for a defenseman with his credentials. 

All statistics via NHL.com and Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com.

Dave Lozo covers the NHL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter: @DaveLozo.