Confirmed with Link: Rangers re-sign Derek Stepan [2 years, $6.15M, $3.075M AAV]

[DudMan28]

what the hell is with this board and their infatuation with this mystical #1 center that we so "desperately need"? Every #1 center is different, because every team is different. Stepan might not be a scoring machine like Stammer or Sid, but he defends about a mile better than both of them. If he keeps up his play from last year and becomes a consistent 70 point guy, he's top 10 in the league IMO. CBJ's 1st line center is Artem ****ing Anisimov, but hey it works doesn't it? Stop with the ****ing Giroux and Henrik Sedin comparisons. They're not the same kind of player. Stepan could score 90 points while playing great defense and half this board would still be pissed off that he's not Giroux. For ****s sake.

Couldn't agree with you more. For the way this team is built, there aren't many centers I would take over Stepan.

 

[Jersey Girl]

For the way this team is built, there aren't many centers I would take over Stepan.

Really? There aren't may centers you would take in the entire league over Stepan?

 

[Raspewtin]

Really? There aren't may centers you would take in the entire league over Stepan?

Getzlaf, Crosby, Malkin, Tavares, Stamkos, Toews, Backstrom. Those are the centers I'd take over Stepan at this point in their careers.

*Assuming Stepan continues near PPG scoring trend, which I see no reason why he can't.

 

[DekeR]

The difference between the two parties and finding a middle figure equates to about 6 games. I am not seeing a contract signed until those 6 games have expired and Slats wins in the amount outlayed for this yr.

 

[Gardner McKay]

Getzlaf, Crosby, Malkin, Tavares, Stamkos, Toews, Backstrom. Those are the centers I'd take over Stepan at this point in their careers.

*Assuming Stepan continues near PPG scoring trend, which I see no reason why he can't.

How is Backstroms defensive play? Never really paid attention.

 

[Raspewtin]

How is Backstroms defensive play? Never really paid attention.

actually pretty good. not stellar but I'd trust him in crunch time situations.

 

[Fataldogg]

actually pretty good. not stellar but I'd trust him in crunch time situations.

I think Backstrom is one of the better two-way centers in the league. And he's become criminally underrated over the last two years because (a) he plays with Ovechkin and (b) he has had some injuries (despite injuries only bolstering Crosby's value )

 

[Fataldogg]

Getzlaf, Crosby, Malkin, Tavares, Stamkos, Toews, Backstrom. Those are the centers I'd take over Stepan at this point in their careers.

*Assuming Stepan continues near PPG scoring trend, which I see no reason why he can't.

Those are the ONLY centers you would take over Stepan? Thus, you think Stepan, given age and contracts, is the 8th best center in the league? EVEN with that BIG assumption? Which is a BIG IF?

I understand with "age" coming into play you might view it like that, but with Lundqvist's career winding down, we only have a several year window to win the Stanley Cup (after Lundqvist leaves the team the team will need an overhaul).

I'd want to do there HERE & NOW approach. And with that said, I would take Crosby, Malkin, Stamkos, Giroux, Datsyuk, Thornton, Tavares, Spezza, Getzlaf, Zetterberg, Bergeron, Kopitar, E. Staal, Toews, N. Backstrom, H. Sedin, Krejci, Couture, Benn etc, over him. Without even thinking twice.

Then, Stepan would fall into the tier with Pavelski, Skinner, Duchene, Kadri, M. Koivu, Plekanec, M. Richards, Seguin, Weiss, Stastny, O'Reilly, etc. And OF these players I just listed, I would take Pavelski, Richards, and Koivu all over him because they're a proven commodity.

Stepan has quickly become one of the most overrated Rangers in recent memory because of a 48 game season. He isn't a bonafide 1st line center. At this point in his career, he would be a 2nd line center on most teams in the league. The only reason he isn't a 2nd line center on our squad right now is because Richards has vastly underperformed.

Even with age / contract taken into consideration, with the amount of depth at center in the NHL, there is no way you can possibly think that Stepan is a top-8 center in the league without coming off as a complete homer who isn't completely bias.

 

[Off Sides]

Every player everyone is listing makes far more than what Stepan is asking for, sans Kadri

 

[Fataldogg]

Every player everyone is listing makes far more than what Stepan is asking for, sans Kadri

I'm talking about, regardless of age, contract, etc, everyone of those centers in my first list are clearly better than him, and every center in the 2nd list you can certainly make a claim.

This talk about Stepan being a top-10 center in the league is non-sense. And frankly, I don't understand it. He is a border line #1 center at best, and a clear #2 center.

 

[Raspewtin]

Those are the ONLY centers you would take over Stepan? Thus, you think Stepan, given age and contracts, is the 8th best center in the league? EVEN with that BIG assumption? Which is a BIG IF?

I understand with "age" coming into play you might view it like that, but with Lundqvist's career winding down, we only have a several year window to win the Stanley Cup (after Lundqvist leaves the team the team will need an overhaul).

I'd want to do there HERE & NOW approach. And with that said, I would take Crosby, Malkin, Stamkos, Giroux, Datsyuk, Thornton, Tavares, Spezza, Getzlaf, Zetterberg, Bergeron, Kopitar, E. Staal, Toews, N. Backstrom, H. Sedin, Krejci, Couture, Benn etc, over him. Without even thinking twice.

Then, Stepan would fall into the tier with Pavelski, Skinner, Duchene, Kadri, M. Koivu, Plekanec, M. Richards, Seguin, Weiss, Stastny, O'Reilly, etc. And OF these players I just listed, I would take Pavelski, Richards, and Koivu all over him because they're a proven commodity.

Stepan has quickly become one of the most overrated Rangers in recent memory because of a 48 game season. He isn't a bonafide 1st line center. At this point in his career, he would be a 2nd line center on most teams in the league. The only reason he isn't a 2nd line center on our squad right now is because Richards has vastly underperformed.

Even with age / contract taken into consideration, with the amount of depth at center in the NHL, there is no way you can possibly think that Stepan is a top-8 center in the league without coming off as a complete homer who isn't completely bias.

WHERE did I say he's the 8th best center in the league? For my own reasons and opinions, there are only 7 centers I would take over him, that doesn't imply I think he's that good. I wouldn't take Datsyuk over him because he's really getting up there in age, although Datsyuk is the clearly superior player, for example. And I clearly said ASSUMING he keeps up his production, because no **** there's the chance he doesn't, but there's also a chance Patrice Bergeron has a career ending injury this year, doesn't mean it'll happen. Most overrated ranger in recent history? give me a break. Have you even heard of Chris Kreider or Petr Prucha? He's only "overrated" in the sense that he had his breakout in a short season, and ultimately it's not enough proof for everyone. Every team is built differently. Boston is a top 3 team in the league, and Krejci and Bergeron aren't first line centers on more than half the teams in the league. Every team is built differently . And in ALL aspects of his game he has perfromed better than Richards. So yes, he is our #1 center, and if he keeps up a 70 point pace I'll be more than happy with him.

 

[Off Sides]

I'm talking about, regardless of age, contract, etc, everyone of those centers in my first list are clearly better than him, and every center in the 2nd list you can certainly make a claim.

This talk about Stepan being a top-10 center in the league is non-sense. And frankly, I don't understand it. He is a border line #1 center at best, and a clear #2 center.

I agree with you, he's not a top 10 center. In my opinion he ranks somewhere in the 20-40 range.

My point is all the players in the 20-40 range, besides one or two, all are making far more than Stepan is even asking for.

 

[GAGLine]

I agree with you, he's not a top 10 center. In my opinion he ranks somewhere in the 20-40 range.

My point is all the players in the 20-40 range, besides one or two, all are making far more than Stepan is even asking for.

How many of those players signed those deals as RFAs without arbitration rights?

 

[Off Sides]

How many of those players signed those deals as RFAs without arbitration rights?

Henrique and Hodgson the two most recent examples, and I probably would not consider them in the 20-40 range.

 

[Gardner McKay]

I agree with you, he's not a top 10 center. In my opinion he ranks somewhere in the 20-40 range.

My point is all the players in the 20-40 range, besides one or two, all are making far more than Stepan is even asking for.

His production last year says he is just on the cusp. If continues at near PPG rate this year 75+ points and keeps up his stellar defensive play it is definitely an argument that can be made (not necessarily one I would make but I could see it).

 

[Fataldogg]

WHERE did I say he's the 8th best center in the league? For my own reasons and opinions, there are only 7 centers I would take over him, that doesn't imply I think he's that good. I wouldn't take Datsyuk over him because he's really getting up there in age, although Datsyuk is the clearly superior player, for example. And I clearly said ASSUMING he keeps up his production, because no **** there's the chance he doesn't, but there's also a chance Patrice Bergeron has a career ending injury this year, doesn't mean it'll happen. Most overrated ranger in recent history? give me a break. Have you even heard of Chris Kreider or Petr Prucha? He's only "overrated" in the sense that he had his breakout in a short season, and ultimately it's not enough proof for everyone. Every team is built differently. Boston is a top 3 team in the league, and Krejci and Bergeron aren't first line centers on more than half the teams in the league. Every team is built differently . And in ALL aspects of his game he has perfromed better than Richards. So yes, he is our #1 center, and if he keeps up a 70 point pace I'll be more than happy with him.

If you would only take SEVEN centers in the NHL over him, for THIS team, that would imply you think he is the 8th best center in the NHL to play for the New York Rangers. And I did mention that you were ASSUMING, and I said even if you ASSUMED that, it still wouldn't make sense.

Can you blame them? You're talking about a 48 game season. If we took any stock into a 48 game season to prove a players worth, than Subban would be the best defense man in the NHL and Bobrovsky would have dethroned Lundqvist as the best goalie in the game.

In regards to Krejci, I view him as a legitimate first line center. I never understood how he isn't viewed as one. He gets 60+ points in the regular season, and has lead the NHL playoffs in scoring 2 out of the last 3 years. That's an accolade FEW NHL players will ever achieve once in their career. He's a proven commodity that has shown he is the real deal (especially more so than Derek Stepan).

I understand what you are saying, for all intents and purposes, Stepan is the 8th best fit for this team. And to me, that still doesn't make sense, because there are at least 20 centers who are vastly superior to him, regardless of age or contract. And with our window closing (as much as people might like to think that we will win the Stanley Cup without Lundqvist in our prime), it would still make sense to put the most talent on the team at this time.

 

[Fataldogg]

His production last year says he is just on the cusp. If continues at near PPG rate this year 75+ points and keeps up his stellar defensive play it is definitely an argument that can be made (not necessarily one I would make but I could see it).

Being on the cusp and being a true top-10 center are two very different things. Secondly, to be a top-10 center you need to show an elite level of play over a number of years. One season (48 games or 82 games) can't validate a player as a top-10 player.

If Stepan is on the cusp of being a top-10 center, than so too would Kadri, O'Reilly, Duchene, etc.

And I think it would be hard to imagine that Stepan can dethrone any of Crosby, Malkin, Stamkos, Giroux, Datsyuk, Kopitar, Toews, Getzlaf, Tavares, Backstrom, Zetterberg, Spezza, etc, moving forward (all centers who have had routine success of 70+ points, some with 80-90, some with over 100).

Unless we truly believe on Ranger fans that Stepan is going to be one of the few elite in the NHL (which, as an objective fan, and as good as he was in a shortened season, he hasn't shown he will be a top-10 elite center up there with Crosby, Malkin, Toews, Stamkos, Datsyuk, Tavares, etc.).

 

[Off Sides]

His production last year says he is just on the cusp. If continues at near PPG rate this year 75+ points and keeps up his stellar defensive play it is definitely an argument that can be made (not necessarily one I would make but I could see it).

I agree with that as well, but if I were trying to compare him to all the players league wide, using the simplest metric I can think of without considering his two way game, it's production.

Using NHL.com even though they are not completely accurate position wise

Among all forwards

10-11 45 points 82 games tied 114th
11-12 51 points 82 games tied 87th
12-13 44 points 48 games tied for 21st

Among centers

10-11 tied 42nd
11-12 tied 32nd
12-13 tied 12th

To me that is 2nd line rookie year, cusp 1st line 2nd year, and top line last year.

 

[haveandare]

While it came off that way, I don't think every move he makes sucks. He makes some good moves, yet for every three or so good ones he makes there are at least two bad ones.

The culmination of all his moves is not good enough to ever get this team to the elite level, he makes too many errors along the way for that to ever happen.

He's been here long enough to turn the whole thing around. To a point he has. I admit, slowly they have become a better organization. With that said, I believe he's brought the Rangers to the highest level he is going to which is a similar level to where they were with Jagr with the exception of a better prospect pool. Not unlike Renney or even Torts, it's time for a change.

The thing the Rangers would miss most about Sather is he was part of the old boys club which still has deep roots even today. I would not even mind if they kept him around and he just stuck to that portion of the job. However he needs to completely get out of the player evaluation, UFA, RFA, cap structure, asset management portions except when it come to trades dealing with other members of the old boys club and even then be careful what you ask him to do, while he definitely has made some good ones, there are quite a few questionable ones in there as well.

Basically I just want the Rangers to pick a direction and stick to it, let the cards fall where they do, stop with hole plugging rentals that never work, stop with the "this will fix everything" long term UFAs that never fix anything, stop messing around with the youth that has been here and performing just fine, stop taking reach players in the first round of the draft, just be consistent.

Honeslty, I don't disagree with anything you've written here now that it's in more detail.

The team has come around IMO, but at a glacial pace. I haven't been a diehard fan for as many years as a lot of people, but in my time, the team has gone from a place mercs go to die to a team with a somewhat balanced lineup and a good bit of prospect depth. I think this year is one of the best I've wintessed in terms of having guys who can make the jump but don't need to make the jump from a team-building standpoint. I'm pretty excited about the youth this team has now, and I'm still a big fan of the core and the fact that many/most of them were either drafted by NYR or played their first NHL games with NYR.

I've said before and I'll say again that I don't think UFAs are a bad idea in all cases and I think NYR has a huge advantage in that market being an original 6 team in NYC - however, they need to evaluate that talent better and find ways to offer less absurd contracts, while still attracting the players they want. Easier said than done for sure, but Redden should have never happened for example and Richards should have never beens signed for so long.

 

[Holocene]

I agree with you, he's not a top 10 center. In my opinion he ranks somewhere in the 20-40 range.

My point is all the players in the 20-40 range, besides one or two, all are making far more than Stepan is even asking for.

You think Stepan is in the 20-40 range for centers?! I hope you mean all forwards.

 

[The Pwnerer]

Ryan O'Reilly v2?

 

[Off Sides]

You think Stepan is in the 20-40 range for centers?! I hope you mean all forwards.

Among all forwards

10-11 45 points 82 games tied 114th
11-12 51 points 82 games tied 87th
12-13 44 points 48 games tied for 21st

Among centers

10-11 tied 42nd
11-12 tied 32nd
12-13 tied 12th

 

[Off Sides]

Unless we truly believe on Ranger fans that Stepan is going to be one of the few elite in the NHL (which, as an objective fan, and as good as he was in a shortened season, he hasn't shown he will be a top-10 elite center up there with Crosby, Malkin, Toews, Stamkos, Datsyuk, Tavares, etc.).

Agreed, I do not think he's ever going to be on that level. He's a notch below, so instead of making 6, 7, 8M per year, he's probably should only get about 4M per year until he proves one way or another, which is more than he is asking for, seems like a bargain at 3.5M per.

PS: Yes I know Logan Couture took a bridge contract for 2 years at 2,875 AVV after putting up 53 and 65 point seasons in two consecutive NHL years. Yet he did only put up 9 NHL pts the year prior, if we are taking a players whole body of NHL work into consideration and all.

 

[Hire Sather]

I just wonder what goes through Stepan's head everyday.

 

[Boom Boom Geoffrion*]

I just wonder what goes through Stepan's head everyday.

A lot of nonsense from his Agent. Fools. Wake up.