In 35 games this season Marc Staal is averaging 19:27 per game, an increase of nearly a minute over the 18:32 he played last season.

Staal has two goals this season, he had one last year, and is on pace to put his most shots on goal since the 2014-15 season.

In training camp, David Quinn said that he wanted Staal to build off of last season and that “he is someone we will rely on in a lot of situations on and off the ice and he came into camp in great shape. He’s a big piece of what we have going on right now.” (NYR)

Staal told the NY Times about how when he was a young player he would watch Jaromir Jagr, Brendan Shanahan and Chris Drury and that he is trying to be the same kind of leader for the young Rangers.

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Neal Pionk said that Staal is a “leader” and that the veteran has taken the young Ranger defenseman under his wing. (Newsday)

Staal said that he has always been a “voice” in the Rangers locker room and that he wants to continue to do that and set an example for the young players coming in. (NY Post)

He said that he is feeling “really good” and has a lot of hockey left in front of him. He noted though that he is only thinking about right now and not about his potential future with the Rangers. (Newsday)

Staal has two more seasons on his contract after this season and has a cap hit of $5.7 million.