Staal spent five seasons playing for John Tortorella during his time with the New York Rangers.
The Philadelphia Flyers have added a noteworthy piece to their blue line.
Monday morning, the Flyers signed veteran defenseman Marc Staal to a one-year, $1.1 million contract.
Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff was first on the signing.
Staal, who is 36 years old, is now the oldest player on the Flyers' roster by a wide margin. The next oldest player on the roster is Nic Deslauriers, who is only 31.
The addition of Staal makes sense for the Flyers. After Justin Braun announced his retirement at the end of the season, Nick Seeler, who has only appeared in 225 NHL games at 29 years old, became the Flyers' most senior defenseman. The Flyers needed a more experienced veteran on the back end, and Staal fits that criteria.
Staal was selected in the first round (No. 12 overall) of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers. He spent 13 seasons with the Rangers — five of which under current Flyers head coach John Tortorella.
Staal spent the 2022-23 season with the Florida Panthers, serving as a key cog on the blue line in their run to the Stanley Cup Final. He registered three goals and 15 points in 82 regular-season games and played in all 21 of the Panthers' postseason games.
However, Staal was often a play-driving liability throughout the playoffs. At 5-on-5, he registered low marks in Corsi For percentage (47.74), Goals For percentage (42.86), and Expected Goals For percentage (41.73). At all strengths, he was on the ice for 25 goals against — the fourth-most by any defenseman throughout the playoffs.
Staal is a defensive defenseman who specializes at killing penalties. He earned over 212 minutes of shorthanded ice time during the 2022-23 season, which ranked 26th out of all 320 NHL blueliners.
To date, the 6-foot-4, 208-pound defender has played in 1,101 NHL games and logged a total of 52 goals and 229 points.
Advanced statistics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.