Veteran defenseman Marc Staal signs a one year deal

This just in, the Philadelphia Flyers have signed veteran defenseman Marc Staal to a one year contract worth $1.1 million.

The 36 year old Staal had a stellar season with the Florida Panthers last season, holding down their third defence pairing en route to a Stanley Cup Final appearance. He put up 15 points in 83 regular season games and went pointless in 21 Stanley Cup Playoff games, but put up his first positive +/- statistic in the last five seasons. He's certainly not the player he once was during the prime of his career with the New York Rangers, but he's still a capable depth defender who can provide some stability and depth further down in the lineup

As for the Flyers, the rebuilding of their defensive corps continues under rookie GM Daniel Briere. The team has added the likes of Staal and Sean Walker, while trading away Ivan Provorov and attempting to trade Tony DeAngelo, before the NHL put the kibosh on the DeAngelo trade. Most analysts still expect DeAngelo to be shipped out at some point this offseason, however.

Any way you look at it though, the Flyers will feature a much different squad in 2023-24 under Briere. The former Flyers forward turned front office executive has made his presence felt this offseason and has shown that he's not afraid to make some bold moves in rebuilding this team. Provorov is gone, Kevin Hayes is gone, DeAngelo is as good as gone and there are daily rumor reports that goaltender Carter Hart is in play, as well. Frankly, I absolutely love what Briere has done so far and I'm hopeful that he does even more this offseason to tear down this roster. He's clearly not afraid to stick his neck out like former Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher was. Fletcher looked terrified to make a wrong move by the end of his stint in Philly and the team stagnated for about two years too long because of it. Briere has come in and ripped the band-aid off the oozing wound on this team's roster.