The Philadelphia Flyers have signed defencemen Marc Staal to a one-year deal worth $1.1 million. For the Flyers, who are currently in rebuilding mode, this move adds some veteran presence to a blueline with many young faces on it. It’s expected that Staal will be a bottom-pairing defenceman for the Flyers next season, if not the team’s seventh defenceman. The Flyers will be Staal’s fourth NHL team in his 15-year career and third team in the past four years after he spent the first 13 seasons with the New York Rangers, who drafted him 12th overall in the 2005 NHL Draft. Staal has played in 1,101 NHL games, putting up 52 goals and 177 assists for 229 points; he has added seven goals, and 13 assists for 20 points in 128 Stanley Cup Playoff Games. The 36-year-old defencemen is one of only two Staal brothers not to have lifted the Stanley Cup yet in his career; his brother Jared Staal is the other but only played in two regular season games in his career with the Carolina Hurricanes. However, his brother Eric Staal was a huge part of the Hurricanes during his playing days, including their 2006 Stanley Cup run, where he put up nine goals and 19 assists in 25 games.
