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

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Stepan isn't in a situation where he holds the leverage. And I know people are saying that Sather is just looking for 500k in savings, but every penny counts when he has to re-sign Lundqvist (who is far more important to the team than Stepan), Callahan (our heart and soul captain), Girardi (one of our main stay defense men in the organization) and company all NEXT YEAR. Even with the cap going up, he has to consider making a saving any way he can..

I somewhat agree with the rest of your post, but this is a hot, steaming pile of horse-****. This has zilch to do with Sather saving pennies for next season.

With the cap going up and a Richards buy-out, he should be fine -- and that'll give him the opportunity to go out and overpay more UFA's.

For all of you preaching about leverage, etc, Sather has already exerted his leverage. He's swung the hammer and gotten Stepan's side to agree to a 2 year deal. He's already won. The penny-pinching at this point would be more understandable if Sather proved to be fiscally prudent at all over the last 13 years.

 

[Gardner McKay]

I think most people who know me would describe me as calm and reasonable. Maybe my writing just comes off as brash.

Anyway, other teams identify their core early and give them bigger contracts early on. Thats their right under the CBA, just like Sather has the right to put the screws to his younger players. So, complaining about these other teams does nothing to advance his argument.

No argument there

 

[Hunter Gathers]

I'd rather pay a Norris winner 7 million long term than pay a question-mark 5 for 5-6 years.

This times infinity.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Exactly. Notice the trend with the teams we're talking about: Buffalo, Carolina, Oilers... you don't build a good team by overpaying players in that position.

I think you'll be eating your words when those Edmonton kids mature a little more.

But thats besides the point -- I wouldn't be married to either philosophy as long as there was a management team in place that could, more often than not, successfully project if a young player will be a core component going forward.

What sets Sather apart is his knack for playing hardball with his younger players and then opening the vault for any UFA pushing 30 that comes around -- all while preaching the importance of building from within.

I don't give a damn that he's fiscally prudent with his young, homegrown guys. Just be consistent with that philosophy.

 

[Rangers ftw]

I'd rather pay a Norris winner 7 million long term than pay a question-mark 5 for 5-6 years.

Word. Stepan still has a lot to prove, which is the reason, beside cap issues, to give him a bridge contract. Stepan has two years to prove that he is what he already seems to think he is, a 1C. Then he'll also be paid as one. 48 games is not enough to back up his case imo. I do however belive that he'll become a prime Richards kinda player.

 

[wolfgaze]

That actually came into question with the buffalo/toronto brawl. Clarkson got 10 games for leaving the bench and the guys on NHL Home Ice weren't sure if he would lose 10 days of pay for the 10 games missed, or if he would lose all the days in between those 10 games as well. I never heard the answer.

I wonder what happens if you get suspended just before the all-star break or during an Olympics year.... Lose money over the course of those days too? Hmm.....

Just doesn't seem too uniform... I mean if a player gets a 2 game suspension doled out and the team is scheduled to play 2 games over the course of the next two consecutive nights, that's only 2-3 days you are penalized. But if your team's schedule is such that the next 2 games are spaced out over the next 6-7 days, you are losing more money that way due to the scheduling.

Anyway, I guess the P.A. obviously agreed to this structure/format...

 

[GAGLine]

I wonder what happens if you get suspended just before the all-star break or during an Olympics year.... Lose money over the course of those days too? Hmm.....

Just doesn't seem too uniform... I mean if a player gets a 2 game suspension doled out and the team is scheduled to play 2 games over the course of the next two consecutive nights, that's only 2-3 days you are penalized. But if your team's schedule is such that the next 2 games are spaced out over the next 6-7 days, you are losing more money that way due to the scheduling.

Anyway, I guess the P.A. obviously agreed to this structure/format...

Based on what RB posted on the prior page, it sounds like they only lose the money for the day of the games.

 

[NYRSinceBirth]

Each side comes in at what they feel fair 2.9M vs. 3.5M - which they're entitled to because each number is arguable but not outrageous.

We've heard the NYR would be willing to do $3.2M, while Step is staying at his number.

Yet somehow Slats is being the unreasonable one? Step knows he'll get paid on his next contract, whether it be from what Slats said ("He'll get paid, just not today") or on the open market and $3.2M is still a solid gap deal.

I'm slowly moving from Camp Stepan to Club Cuban Cigar.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

Sather needs to retire.

First, he feels inclined to take an interview in Banff Alberta, during a charity golf outing, 2,500 miles away from where he should be giving interviews (thats never going to change) but I guess since he's at home he feels more inclined to speak his mind.

What he said comes across worse as a quote then in the actual interview - but he should know, from experience it wasn't the right idea to say all of that. Keep it private. Getting into a pissing match through the airwaves doesn't solve anything - even if he didn't mean for it to come off that way.

Let's not forget that when he canned Tortorella and brought in AV, part of the reasoning was based on Tort's mishandling of the media (specifically the "Hagelin stinks" comment among others, which we later found out pissed off a lot of the Rangers players). So now Sather takes the opportunity to bad mouth his #1 center in what will be one of the only interviews he'll actually provide the fans this season.

And you want to talk about contracts and being a fool??? The pot is most certainly calling the kettle black on that one...

Stupid. Do us a favor Slats, stay in Banff.

 

[haveandare]

I think you'll be eating your words when those Edmonton kids mature a little more.

But thats besides the point -- I wouldn't be married to either philosophy as long as there was a management team in place that could, more often than not, successfully project if a young player will be a core component going forward.

What sets Sather apart is his knack for playing hardball with his younger players and then opening the vault for any UFA pushing 30 that comes around -- all while preaching the importance of building from within.

I don't give a damn that he's fiscally prudent with his young, homegrown guys. Just be consistent with that philosophy.

I used to think that too. It's been a couple years and I'm still not eating my words. Even if RNH does end up earning that money (and I hope he does for the sake of a more entertaining league with more exciting players), and the deal ends up being a huge win, it was an unnecessary risk to take. Like I said about Subban, I'd rather the team I follow pay a norris winner 7 mill than a pay a question-mark of a defenseman 5 million, assuming the team isn't absolutely strapped cap-wise. You take a big gamle to save 2 million or so on the cap for the next few years. Maybe worth the risk if space is really, really tight, and you're almost sure that the player will improve beyond the highest year of the contract, but otherwise it's just a risk that could have been avoided for a price.

I just don't see a really bad outcome with this method of managing these contracts. If the player doesn't advance over the course of the bridge, you can resign them for around the same price next time. If they player gets worse, you dodged a bullet. If the player gets better, you're out a couple mill of space a year for the rest of their career, but the cap is going up and you have an incredible player now. Meanwhile, with a deal like RNH's, the outcome is disaster unless he improves big time. So much risk.

I agree that Sather's UFA decisions have been idiotic in the past, save for Gaborik. However, I also think UFA leads to overpayment for players in their 30s by design, and the Rangers have a tremendous advantage in that market due to being in NYC and being an original 6 team. They should use that advantage on wiser players at wiser times, but I don't think they should stop using it all together. I really don't think fiscal prudence means the same thing with UFAs and with young RFAs that aren't arb eligible. You can't squeeze UFAs - they'll just go somewhere else.

 

[16 To Stanley*]

Based on what RB posted on the prior page, it sounds like they only lose the money for the day of the games.

It is calculated based on the day the season starts until the day the regular season ends in april.

The amount of their salary is agregated over the course of days that entails. (I did the math earlier i think it's like 190 or something).

So each day a player sits out during the regular season, he is losing money.

This is from Dan Bylsma's blog:

Dear MH: There are no paychecks during training camp, only travel and living expenses allowances. When the regular season starts, the club divides your salary by the number of days in the season figured from the first day of the season to the last day of the regular season and you are paid at that rate for every day for which you are rostered (or on the injured reserve list). But the distribution is typically made on the 15th and the 30th of the month.

Some playing bonuses can only be paid at the end of the year, like a bonus for a certain plus/minus level, which obviously can fluctuate and bonuses for winning a major award like the Norris Trophy. Some are paid at the time they are earned, for example a new players contract may call for a player to be paid a certain amount if he plays 30 games and then be increased to a higher level thereafter, or a bonus for a certain number of goals. Some bonuses are only paid if the team makes the playoffs. These things are determined by team policy and the contract you negotiate.


There are no salary payments after the regular season ends. During playoffs, it is my understanding that each player is paid an equal share of a percentage of the total league ticket revenue for the rounds of the playoffs his team is involved in.

 

[GAGLine]

It is calculated based on the day the season starts until the day the regular season ends in april.

The amount of their salary is agregated over the course of days that entails. (I did the math earlier i think it's like 190 or something).

So each day a player sits out during the regular season, he is losing money.

This is from Dan Bylsma's blog:

I know all that. We weren't talking about Stepan. We were talking about how much money a player loses when they are suspended.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

Thank you Glen Sather, for officially making this holdout a distraction to the team.

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nhl/sto...rs-needs-get-little-wiser-says-gm-glen-sather

 

[eco's bones]

I honestly think he'll end up as a 75ish point, Patrice Bergeron kind of player. Unfortunately, the sad truth is that, even if he reaches that level every year, people will still refuse to call him a #1 center because he's "not really a PPG player".

Bergeron's a better skater and face-off guy. Other than that Stepan is quite a lot like him. RicK Nash has never really been a ppg player and practically everyone here and around the league consider him a 1st line wing.

Right now Richards might be part of Stepan's leverage--if he continues to look like cow manure anyway. But seriously if the Rangers have in mind $3.2 and Stepan's people $3.5 Derek should just let it go and sign.

 

[OverTheCap]

Sather can be a tight-lipped with the media so I was a little surprised that he was so blunt when talking about Stepan. At least he tried to direct some of his ire towards Stepan's agent, but I hope Stepan doesn't feel offended otherwise that can delay the process even further.

Watching Sather attempt to rationalize not buying out Richards was really the icing on the cake for me.

 

[Levitate]

I love how everyone chopped up that "fool" quote in order to make it sound worse than it is.

Stepan absolutely would be a fool to sit out the entire year. There's no question about that. None in the slightest.

Sather shouldn't have said that IMO but he's also 100% correct and everyone has selectively edited that quote to make it sound like Sather is just straight up calling Stepan a fool

 

[FJB]

They were bashing Sather on XM today.

 

[Drewbackatu*]

The only teams that he would be anywhere near the 3rd line would be teams that wouldn't need him because of ridiculous deptj...like J.Staal in Pitt...he's not a 3rd line C

I didn't say Stepan was a 3rd line center; what I said was that he is a 2nd line center on most teams(as he would be here if Richards didn't implode last year) and a 3rd line center on some teams.

The "some" teams I'm referring to(off the top of my head) would be Boston(Krejci and Bergeron w/b ahead of him), Pittsburgh(Crosby & Malkin), Philadelphia(Giroux & Lecavalier), Los Angeles(Kopitar & Carter or Richards). Had J Staal remained in Pittsburgh, Stepan would be moved to wing if he had played there.

 

[Drewbackatu*]

A 3rd line centre? lol Pardon?

You are correct sir. Stepan w/b a 3rd line center on Boston, Pittsburgh, LA and Philadelphia for starters.

 

[Championship*]

They were bashing Sather on XM today.

Those morons bash a NY team? Incredulous!

The guys on NHL Network radio are "good old canadian boys", except not boys, but incredibly grumpy old men who, if you've seen pictures of them, look like they've never skated a day in their life. VERY anti-NY.

 

[Championship*]

Thank you Glen Sather, for officially making this holdout a distraction to the team.

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nhl/sto...rs-needs-get-little-wiser-says-gm-glen-sather

Who is distracted? If guys on a team got distracted by what the media decides to write about then they'd have to ban the players from reading news papers or going on the internet.

 

[NYR Viper]

You are correct sir. Stepan w/b a 3rd line center on Boston, Pittsburgh, LA and Philadelphia for starters.

Stepan is very easily comparable to Kreijci and much better than Schenn or Lecavalier (who is falling apart). Maybe I'll give you Mike Richards. Maybe.

 

[Evgeny Oliker]

This is rather simple:

1. Sather has no business talking about other GMs splurging on their players when he himself overspends constantly on old bums like Gomez and Richards.

2. Sather is actually correct in pursuing a bridge contract for Stepan since that is all we can afford. However, the reason for WHY that is all we can afford is because Sather stupidly did NOT Buy-out Richards.

Summary:
Sather is an idiot. End of discussion.

 

[Blue Blooded]

I didn't say Stepan was a 3rd line center; what I said was that he is a 2nd line center on most teams(as he would be here if Richards didn't implode last year) and a 3rd line center on some teams.

The "some" teams I'm referring to(off the top of my head) would be Boston(Krejci and Bergeron w/b ahead of him), Pittsburgh(Crosby & Malkin), Philadelphia(Giroux & Lecavalier), Los Angeles(Kopitar & Carter or Richards). Had J Staal remained in Pittsburgh, Stepan would be moved to wing if he had played there.

Bolded were all clearly worse than Stepan last reg. season.

Hell, Stepan was significantly better than Giroux and Malkin 5v5 last season.

Most of these players are a lot more proven than Stepan, but he was a top-10 center in the league last season. No question about it.

 

[FJB]

Those morons bash a NY team? Incredulous!

The guys on NHL Network radio are "good old canadian boys", except not boys, but incredibly grumpy old men who, if you've seen pictures of them, look like they've never skated a day in their life. VERY anti-NY.

True. I listen during lunch sometimes, and they get quite annoying. They do make some good points time to time, but I am sick of hearing about Toronto. Although today, they basically admitted that there are no Canadian contenders (maybe Van, possibly Ott) and then they whined about there being no Cup in Canada since 93.