Let’s face it, people like seeing families succeed together. The football world has been captivated by the successful careers of Jason and Travis Kelce, and their New Heights podcast continues to be among the most listened to sports podcasts in the world. The Marx Brothers; Harpo, Groucho, Zeppo, and Chico, entertained audiences for years. The NHL has their version of the Marxes: the Staals. Yes, Eric, Jordan, Marc, and even Jared have all played in the NHL. All but one, Marc, played for Carolina at some point. Now, Marc has joined the Philadelphia Flyers this offseason. But what is his role here?
A year ago, the Flyers re-signed Justin Braun to a one year deal worth $1 million. Many thought it was foolish. He was an aging vet with diminishing skills. Why would the Flyers bring him back? It especially became confusing as he played in just 51 games, with the bulk of those games early on in the season (he played in just two games in January). However, John Tortorella had shared that Braun had done a lot of work behind the scenes helping to develop some of the younger defenders.
In a similar vein, Staal is 36, which just so happens to be the same age as Braun. Staal has arrived to the Flyers after spending last year with the Florida Panthers – 2023’s Stanley Cup finalists. He played in all 82 games, scoring three goals and 12 assists while logging over 18 minutes of ice time on average. He also played in 21 postseason games, this time averaging over 21 minutes. His +10 rating last season would easily make him the Flyers’ plus-minus leader.
Staal is in the twilight of his career. He’s played in over 1100 games in his career. His name is not etched in Lord Stanley’s Cup, and he’s yet to make an appearance at the NHL All-Star game. However, if you’d played that long, especially at a fairly consistent level as a respectable second or third-line defender, you’d pick up a few things or two. This is why he is here.
When it comes down to it, there are two main reasons that Staal is in Philly. We’ve touched on the first. He’s here as a mentor of sorts to players like Cam York, Egor Zamula, Emil Andrae and other young rising Flyers defensive players. He’s here to guide them and show them the ropes of what it takes to play 16 years in the NHL. You don’t have to be a superstar. You just have to be consistently decent and work hard.
That leads us to his second purpose in Philly. He served a tour of duty under Coach Tortorella when the two were with the New York Rangers. Staal knows what it means to succeed under Coach Torts. While talented players like Tony DeAngelo and Kevin Hayes struggled with the new coach, Staal, like Cam Atkinson, knows what it takes to succeed. While Atkinson can work with the forwards, Staal can help develop the blueliners.
This could be Staal’s last season in professional hockey; although some players, like Zdeno Chara, can play forever if healthy. It is also possible that if the Flyers are way out of playoff contention this spring, the Flyers could flip him to a playoff-bound team for some much needed future assets, such as draft picks or prospects. After all, Braun was traded to the Rangers for a third-round pick in 2021.
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Whatever the future holds for Staal in Philly, he is actually going to be a lot more important to this team than most people realize. While he may not play 18 minutes a game and put up monster stats, his role will be to help the growth of our younger players. If he can help York, Zamula, and others improve their game and their confidence, than Staal has done his job. It’s going to be too early to tell this year, but the true mark of this one-year deal could be measured years from now as the seasons ripple out down the line.