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Glen Sather: No timetable for Marc Staal’s return

Pittsburgh Penguins v New York Rangers

NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 01: Marc Staal #18 of the New York Rangers of the Pittsburgh Penguins at Madison Square Garden on February 1, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

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Marc Staal’s absence in New York thanks to post-concussion issues have been a serious issue for the Rangers to get a handle on. While Staal has struggled to get a handle on things in his recovery, the Rangers are showing now that they’re a bit more than worried about his condition.

Larry Brooks of the New York Post reports that the Rangers will be calling up rookie Tim Erixon to play in the team’s games in Europe. He also reports that they are in talks with free agent defenseman Paul Mara to try and bring him back and give the Rangers a bit more depth defensively and a NHL-ready guy to play for them.

Why the sudden and drastic moves though? Worse yet, Brooks gets word from Rangers GM Glen Sather that things with Staal are very much up in the air as to when he’ll be able to come back.

“Doctors have said that it could be a week, but it could also be a month,” Sather said of the No. 1 defenseman, who has been receiving treatment back home. “I wish we had something absolute, but we don’t.

“If Marc’s out for a substantial length of time, it’s going to have an impact on our club, no doubt about that. He’s our top defenseman, one of our top players, gets the most ice time and is always on against the other team’s top players.

“But it’s something we’ll just have to deal with.”


Deal with it, yes. Do well without him though? That’ll take a true team effort.

Staal’s struggles with post-concussion symptoms have been a big problem for the Rangers and given how he was set to go at the start of training camp seemingly without a problem, you have to wonder if perhaps the Rangers just didn’t know how bad off Staal was or if they weren’t paying attention to how Sidney Crosby has been watched closely in Pittsburgh to ensure he doesn’t come back too soon.

Either way this is now a big problem for the Rangers. Without a timetable for his return, the Rangers are without their top defenseman for an unknown amount of time. Guys like Erixon and Mara, should he sign, can only patch things up in the mean time. If the Rangers are going to be a threat for the Stanley Cup this season, they’re going to have to do it getting out on the wrong foot.