According to ESPN on Thursday, National Hockey League defenseman Marc Staal of Thunder Bay, Ontario has retired at the age of 37. Staal played 13 seasons in the NHL with the New York Rangers (2007 to 2020), two seasons with the Detroit Red Wings (2020 to 2022), one season with the Florida Panthers (2022 to 2023), and one season with the Philadelphia Flyers (2023 to 2024).
Staal had 53 goals and 181 assists for 234 points in 1136 National Hockey League regular season games. He was a +52 with 537 penalty minutes, 18 power-play points, 11 shorthanded points, seven game-winning goals, 1175 shots on goal, three faceoff wins, 1448 blocked shots, 1643 hits, 436 takeaways and 610 giveaways.
In 128 Stanley Cup Playoff games, Staal had seven goals and 13 assists for 20 points. He was a -17 with 52 penalty minutes, two power-play goals, one shorthanded goal, two game-winning goals, 126 shots on goal, 220 blocked shots, 215 hits, 57 takeaways, and 79 giveaways.
Staal’s first game-winning postseason goal came on April 16, 2008 in a 5-3 Rangers win over the New Jersey Devils in game four of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. Staal scored from Martin Straka to break a 3-3 tie with three minutes and 13 seconds left in the third period. Staal then scored the Stanley Cup Playoff overtime winner on May 7, 2012 in game five of the Eastern Conference semifinals, a 3-2 Rangers win over the Washington Capitals. Staal scored from John Mitchell of Oakville, Ontario at 1:35 of overtime.
Internationally, Staal won two gold medals for Canada. They came at the 2006 World Junior Hockey Championship in Vancouver, British Columbia, and the 2007 World Junior Hockey Championship in Leksand, Sweden. It was also announced on Thursday, that Staal would return to the Rangers organization as their player development assistant.
