ST. LOUIS — The Rangers can’t address their core without thinking of defenseman Marc Staal, and they can’t address Monday’s trade deadline without clear eyes on both.
So with Staal returning to the lineup Thursday night against the Blues at Scottrade Center after a one-game absence due to back spasms, here is a nice synopsis of the organizational outlook from coach Alain Vigneault:
“There’s no doubt that I like this group,” Vigneault said Thursday morning. “I think this group is battle-tested. I think this core group deserves another kick at the can.
“But there’s no doubt that we, like a lot of teams in the league, if we can improve ourselves, we’re going to take a look at it. It’s that time of the year where teams are trying to improve to get into the playoffs. We’re one of those teams.”
Staal is not being traded, with a full no-move clause in his contract that lasts through the next two seasons. But the 29-year-old is in the first year of his six-year deal, carrying a $5.7 million annual salary-cap hit, and is expected to be a big-time contributor. That hasn’t been the case for large portions of this season.
But during the time when captain Ryan McDonagh missed four games after suffering a concussion Feb. 6, Staal got more minutes and showed flashes of that sturdy, strong and sometimes hard-edged defenseman that has grown in the Rangers organization since they took him with the 12th-overall pick in the 2005 draft.
“I felt pretty good,” Staal said about his game. “I think I played a lot more minutes the last couple weeks. I think that’s helped me get into the flow, and that’s helped my game a lot. So it’s just a little hiccup and get back on track here [Thursday]. Then keep it rolling here the last 20 [games] and keep getting better going into the playoffs.”
That is the optimism that permeates the Rangers’ front office, the head of which — general manager Jeff Gorton — stayed in New York for this two-game trip, concluding with a game against the Stars in Dallas on Saturday afternoon. Gorton is hoping to make a deal to improve this team — to add around the core, not break it up.
“It’s so competitive now, but because of what we’ve done the last couple years, there’s good experience here, and I believe there’s a big will to win,” Vigneault said. “So we’re looking at all possibilities at this time, and that’s why the GM is back in New York, and we’re all here.”
Staal has been a big part of the group that made it to three of the past four conference finals, and the one that also made it to Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final just two seasons ago. Yet it’s a group that hasn’t gotten over the hump, with 1994 still remaining the only championship the organization has won in the past 76 years.
So there have been thoughts that maybe they’re not good enough, that maybe the core does need to be broken up. But not right now. Not yet.
When Staal and McDonagh were out for Tuesday’s 5-2 drubbing at the hands of the Devils in Newark, it was clear how much they were missed. The Devils ran amok with a constant flow of odd-man rushes bombarding goalie Henrik Lundqvist.
It was unfortunate timing for Staal, as well, after having his game start to turn a corner for the better.
“I thought he played some of his best hockey in the two, three games prior to getting injured,” Vigneault said. “We were missing Mac, and I thought [Staal] rose to the occasion, got more ice time, played big minutes against top-end players. He did a good job at both ends of the rink, not just defending.”
McDonagh was set to return from his jaw bruise and neck spasms to join Staal back on the ice for Thursday’s game, and the core would be back together. The belief that they could carry the Rangers — with maybe a little additional help — is coloring Gorton’s decisions at the most critical juncture of the regular season.