UPDATES 

One-time Hartford Wolf Pack defenseman, he was here for a cup of coffee, Marc Staal has signed a five year deal with the New York Rangers the team has just announced. Andrew Gross reports that the deal is five years at $3.975mm per. A great number because it leaves the Rangers some wiggle room to sign perhaps one, two or more of the veterans that are in their try-out camp. See the official release below.

In other news, the birth of the Connecticut Whalers is getting closer. Rumors suggest that the sign-off on the agreement between WhalersEntertainment (Howard Baldwin), the New York Rangers and AEG should be forthcoming very shortly, perhaps as early as next week. While the take over may happen next week, it’s unclear if the team will switch names right away. When the change is made official is still not clear. If we were guessing, and that’s all we’d be doing, making the switch at the outdoor game in February as part of the Whalers fest would seem to make the most sense. It would gather the most attention and get it out to the greatest number of fans.

What really needs to happen now, more than anything else, is a truce between the hard-core Wolf Pack fans who have been treated shabbily AT BEST by Whalers’ fans almost form the outset. Wolf Pack fans also have to recognize that it’s the same team just wearing different laundry. The same players that they have grown so attached to can’t e faulted and neither can the staff of the team that has worked so incredibly hard. This agreement, when it’s made official, is great for the players, great for the fans and great for the city.

How you ask?

The players benefit because the building will be more full. Playing in front of bigger crowds helps their development.

The fans benefit because Howard Baldwin is an innovator who wants to make the experience of coming to a game better. He has a goal in mind of bringing an NHL team to Hartford. The ONLY way that happens is by getting a full house and making a lot of noise. Then he’ll need to upgrade the building to NL standards…which I’ve heard is already in the plan… So expect more energy being put into getting a product out to the fans that they will like more.

Lastly it benefits the city. There will be more tickets which means more revenue. It means more people spending money in downtown businesses which will also increase revenue for the state as well as the city.

It’s a win-win and something that should be extolled NOT attacked.

Our only negative, we like the Wolf Pack name and colors better, but there are worse things…for example, has anyone taken a look at the state of their retirement plans lately…?

RANGERS AGREE TO TERMS WITH DEFENSEMAN MARC STAAL

New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has agreed to terms with defenseman Marc Staal on a new contract.

Staal, 23, skated in 82 games with the Rangers last season, registering eight goals and 19 assists for 27 points, along with 44 penalty minutes and a plus-11 rating.  He established career-highs in goals, assists and points.  He was one of four Rangers to skate in all 82 games, and has played in 202 consecutive games including the playoffs, dating back to February 19, 2008, at Montreal.  Staal led the team in average ice-time, logging a career-high 23:07 of icetime per game, and eclipsed the 30:00 mark twice including a Rangers season-high 30:45 of icetime on December 19 at Philadelphia.  He ranked fourth on the Rangers in even strength points (27), and tied for third in blocked shots (97), fourth in road goals (seven) and fifth in road points (14).  He also tied for second on the team and 12th among NHL defensemen with 178 hits.  Staal led all Rangers defensemen with a career-high two game-winning goals and a plus-11 rating, ranked second in goals and points and third in assists.  Seven of his eight goals were tallied away from Madison Square Garden, including a career-high three-game goal streak (three goals) from March 30 at the Islanders to April 3 at Florida.  Staal tallied his first career multi-assist performance with two assists on January 31 at Colorado, and registered a career-high four-game point streak from November 27 at Tampa Bay to December 5 at Buffalo (one goal and three assists).  He skated in his 200th career NHL game on December 26 vs. the Islanders.

The  6-4, 210-pounder has skated in 244 career NHL games in three seasons with the Rangers, registering 13 goals and 39 assists for 52 points, along with 150 penalty minutes.  Staal established career-highs in hits (189) and shots (96) during the 2008-09 season, and was selected to participate in the NHL YoungStars Game at the 2009 NHL All-Star Weekend on January 24, 2009, in Montreal for the second consecutive season.  As a rookie in 2007-08, Staal won the Lars-Erik Sjoberg Award as the top rookie in Rangers training camp.  He made his NHL debut in the season-opener on October 4, 2007, vs. Florida, and registered his first point with an assist on November 1, 2007, vs. Washington.  In addition, Staal has skated in 17 career playoff contests, registering two goals and two assists, along with eight penalty minutes.  He established playoff career-highs in games played (10), assists (two), points (three) and penalty minutes (eight) during the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Internationally, Staal has represented his native country in several tournaments, most recently skating with Team Canada at the 2010 World Championship in Germany.  He registered one assist and tied for second on the team with a plus-two rating in seven games.  Staal also captured back-to-back gold medals with Canada at the World Junior Championship in 2006 and 2007, and was named the top defenseman at the 2006 World Junior Championship.

The Thunder Bay, Ontario native was originally selected as the Rangers first round choice, 12th overall, in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.