If this is AV and the Rangers Chase the Chalice III, then Eric Staal is the character actor hired to advance the narrative in the movie’s second sequel; sort of like Sean Connery joining the Raiders franchise playing Indy’s dad.
For while 13 of them are taking at least their third crack at it as a unit and six of them have been together through the six straight years the Blueshirts have qualified for the tournament, Staal is going to the party for the first time since 2009 and only the second time since joining the NHL with the Hurricanes in 2003-04.
So his story and the Rangers’ story aren’t exactly aligned. But the missions are the same. And if this will be this group’s last ride, Staal wasn’t acquired from Carolina on Feb. 28 just to come along for the ride. Staal was acquired to be the missing piece.
“We may be coming from somewhat different places and experiences, but we’re in the same place now, with the same objective,” Staal told The Post following the club’s first prep work for Round One and the Penguins. “They have a history here, they’re an experienced group and they’ve been able to go a long way the last few years. But they haven’t finished off the job.
“I think with my experience, I can help them do that,” said Staal, who has a Stanley Cup notch in his belt from 2005-06 with Carolina in his second year in the league. “My first couple of weeks here, I was doing a lot of observing and listening and trying to find my niche.
“Now, I feel very comfortable with the dynamic on and off the ice. If I have something constructive to add, I’ll speak up.
“Having won before, I think I can add something of value to the dialogue. We’re all on the same page. We’re all in this together.”
The Rangers have all said that qualifying for the playoffs is not to be taken for granted. But the Rangers probably came as close to taking it for granted as possible this time around. The regular season was not to be enjoyed; it was an obstacle to be surmounted.
But there was nothing to take for granted for Staal, whose ‘Canes had missed six straight times and were on their way to a seventh when the opportunity came to come to New York.
“The more years we missed, it was becoming tougher and tougher, to be honest,” Staal said. “They’re going in the right direction there, but there are definitely some things you can’t do [financially] in that type of market, so when I had the opportunity to come to a ready-made playoff team like this, I jumped on it.
“Playing in this type of environment, getting ready for big games, I missed it.”
He missed it to the extent that his younger brother Marc said, “You didn’t see a happier guy in Columbus when we clinched. Seriously, he was thrilled.
“We’d obviously be talking over the summers after the playoffs, and with the runs we’ve gone on the last few years, he was filled with jealousy,” said Marc, who arrived on Broadway for 2007-08. “He wanted to be a part of this atmosphere.”
Again. The Rangers are a battle-tested team whose nucleus has been intact for a substantial period of time. The team has won eight rounds the past four years. But no Cup. And like 2014 deadline acquisition Marty St. Louis before him, Staal has one. So when he speaks, his teammates will listen.
“Even before we got him, I think Eric held the kind of respect around the league that any team and every player would be receptive to anything he had to say,” Marc said. “He won, he was a big part of them winning. He knows what it takes.
“And we’re going to need him to get where we want to go.”
Eric Staal’s pedigree was part of the equation when the Blueshirts targeted him in the weeks before the deadline. But they didn’t get him merely to be a voice in the room. They got him to make a difference on the ice.
Eric, who led the NHL in playoff scoring during the Canes’ Cup run (9-19=28), is one of only five active players with at least 40 playoff games to average at least a point per (19-24=43 in 43 games). Jaromir Jagr, Sidney Crosby, Evgeny Malkin and Claude Giroux are the others.
But No. 12 goes into the tournament as a third-line player instead of as a name above the marquee, as he was in Carolina. There is every chance that Alain Vigneault will move him into a top-six role if the Rangers stall early, but for now, he is a support player.
“It’s different, there’s no question about it, but I knew that would be the case coming to a 100-point team and I’m fine with it,” said Eric, who got only six points (3-3) in 20 games as a Ranger. “It’s an adjustment when your name isn’t called for every key situation, but whatever they need me to do, I just want to do my best and contribute in any way I can.
“We’re all here for the same reason. We’re all here to win the Cup.”