Former Red Wings defenseman Marc Staal officially retired Thursday, taking a job with the New York Rangers as a player development assistant

After 17 years and 1,136 games, former Red Wings defenseman Marc Staal is retiring from professional hockey.

Staal officially made his retirement decision Thursday, while simultaneously accepting a coaching position with the New York Rangers as a player development assistant. Staal spent 13 years of his career with the Rangers before they traded him to Detroit in a September 2020 cap dump.

Originally acquired as a cap dump, Staal's $5.7 million price tag in his first season with the Red Wings earned them a second round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. That pick was one of the assets used alongside a first round pick to trade up for the 15th overall pick used to select Sebastian Cossa. The Stars used the first round pick to grab Wyatt Johnston and the second round pick for Artem Grushnikov, who was traded to Calgary in the Chris Tanev trade at last season's deadline.

Staal wasn't only useful for the draft pick stapled to him. He also proved serviceable in Detroit, so much so that he earned a one-year contract extension. Staal also earned an alternate captain's letter in 2021-22. All told, Staal logged 127 games with six goals and 20 assists with the Red Wings before playing a season each with both the Florida Panthers and Philadelphia Flyers.

Now, Staal has called it quits on a long career, entering the coaching world for a Rangers blue line with lots of young talent in the mix. K'Andre Miller, Braden Schneider and Zachary Jones are all 24-and-younger defensemen on the Blueshirts' blueline. They stand to learn a lot from Staal considering his career longevity and consistency.

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