Remember that time Derek Stepan was good?

[Ilovemymum]

Stepan was good in November with Kreider & Zuke. Put them back toghether!
Amen

 

[FATCHAMALA11]

I would have rather sent this useless chimp to Columbus instead of Dubinsky.

 

[Nyrvana]

Is this a serious thread?

Stepan is third on this team in points and a defensive stud. Also happens to only be 23. Please make someone else the scapegoat.

Maybe if Nash would start being Nash again we'd be having a different conversation.

 

[ColonialsHockey10]

He needs to lose weight.

If he could get around quicker he could be a lot more effective.

 

[TheDirtyH]

I pointed out a few months ago on damn near every nhl team stepan is a 2C and on some teams he's a 3C
Boston - berg krecji
Pitt - malkin Crosby
SJS - Thornton couture
La - Richards kopitar
Van - sedin kesler
Col - duchene stastny

This is 6 teams that would have our 1C playing 3C on their team. Anybody know what they all have in common? They'll all make the playoffs this year, so how does the NYR compete with teams like this when our top line center would be a 3C on 6 teams in the league? I'm not against stepan I really like the guy but his skating really holds him back and it seems he rarely plays with fire. If he stays a ranger he will have to be our 2C for us to succeed and we have to either strike gold and draft our 1C (best option) or trade for one like Dallas went out and did by getting seguin (I want eberle even though he's a winger now)

Conversely, here's a list of the centers that are the same age or younger than Stepan and have more points this season:

Tavares
Seguin
Duchene
Nugent-Hopkins
Johansen
O'Reilly
Schenn

Of that list, personally, I would rank Tavares, Duchene, and Seguin above Stepan right now (though Nuge has a much higher offensive ceiling, results, health issues, and defense puts him behind Stepan imo). Stepan is still very young, and is already establishing himself as an top end center in the league. Your entitled to your opinion, but I disagree that Stepan is so laughably less of a dynamic player than even some of the players you listed. Krecji and Bergeron haven't posted 70 points since 2008 and 2006 respectively. Kesler has been ridiculouly streaky, and snakebitten for most of this season. Richards hasn't scored a goal in 11 (12?) games. And Stastny still isn't even the clear number four center above Stepan on the Olympic roster, despite Stepan's struggles. I'm not going to argue that I'd take Stepan over any of the players you've listed (except Stastny), but I don't think Stepan is that far off--he's improving, he's young, and these are top centers in the world.

 

[DelZottoHitTheNetJK]

Conversely, here's a list of the centers that are the same age or younger than Stepan and have more points this season:

Tavares
Seguin
Duchene
Nugent-Hopkins
Johansen
O'Reilly
Schenn

Of that list, personally, I would rank Tavares, Duchene, and Seguin above Stepan right now (though Nuge has a much higher offensive ceiling, results, health issues, and defense puts him behind Stepan imo). Stepan is still very young, and is already establishing himself as an top end center in the league. Your entitled to your opinion, but I disagree that Stepan is so laughably less of a dynamic player than even some of the players you listed. Krecji and Bergeron haven't posted 70 points since 2008 and 2006 respectively. Kesler has been ridiculouly streaky, and snakebitten for most of this season. Richards hasn't scored a goal in 11 (12?) games. And Stastny still isn't even the clear number four center above Stepan on the Olympic roster, despite Stepan's struggles. I'm not going to argue that I'd take Stepan over any of the players you've listed (except Stastny), but I don't think Stepan is that far off--he's improving, he's young, and these are top centers in the world.

Richards scored 2 games ago.

Stastny will be playing ahead of Stepan on team USA if his injury is no big deal.

And RNH and Johansen are clear cut better players than Stepan right now. ROR is as well but it's closer

 

[slipknottin]

Stastny will be playing ahead of Stepan on team USA if his injury is no big deal.

So you know the lineup already?

And it is somewhat amusing that you are using what team USA does as support for your stepan sucks argument. While also being completely aware that team USA took stepan on the team...

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

Stepan is steadily climbing the ranks of "Seasons Biggest Disappoint." He may be #1 at this point.

Hes not making too many mistakes, but hes almost invisible offensively lately. He was supposed to be the #1 center. What happened?

 

[BarbaraAlphanse]

Put him with Zucc. Zucc has been jumpstarting everyone this season.

 

[haveandare]

This board just needs someone to complain about non-stop.

First, Hank sucks. Then Hank starts playing well. Oh no! Who can we all rally around being disgusted with?

Then, Nash sucks. Awesome. Uh oh, Nash is improving. Oh the humanity! We might have to speak in positive terms about the Rangers!

Oh good, now Stepan sucks. I'm sure, unlike every other player who is elected scapegoat of the week/month/year, he'll never get better, and every poster who ever said he sucked is right objectively and finally.

It's the same cycle over and over and over and over.

Step can play better, but he's not nearly as bad as most posts here make him out to be. Until very, very recently, almost everyone was playing on a team that had nothing going for them outside of Zucc and Kreider.

 

[Gardner McKay]

This board just needs someone to complain about non-stop.

First, Hank sucks. Then Hank starts playing well. Oh no! Who can we all rally around being disgusted with?

Then, Nash sucks. Awesome. Uh oh, Nash is improving. Oh the humanity! We might have to speak in positive terms about the Rangers!

Oh good, now Stepan sucks. I'm sure, unlike every other player who is elected scapegoat of the week/month/year, he'll never get better, and every poster who ever said he sucked is right objectively and finally.

It's the same cycle over and over and over and over.

Step can play better, but he's not nearly as bad as most posts here make him out to be. Until very, very recently, almost everyone was playing on a team that had nothing going for them outside of Zucc and Kreider.

In sports, politics, friendships, relationships... every one needs a scapegoat. Stepan not playing up to the level we expected of him automatically turns him into a scapegoat.

 

[haveandare]

In sports, politics, friendships, relationships... every one needs a scapegoat. Stepan not playing up to the level we expected of him automatically turns him into a scapegoat.

Aside from that though, the point is that this same song and dance happens with the same few guys every year, then the player improves, because most players do when they're in a slump, especially elite talent like Hank and Nash and young talent like Step, then we all joke about "remember that thread bashing X? LOL" then time passes and it happens again.

Didn't we have almost this exact same thread at the beginning of last year? I recall someone saying that they could skate better than Step, maybe that most high school players could skate better then him, and then he went on an absolute PPG tear, and now we're at it again.

 

[OverTheCap]

I don't think Stepan is being singled out or scapegoated at all... plenty of players have been criticized for underperforming this year: Nash, Del Zotto, Callahan, Lundqvist, etc. Stepan is certainly not immune from criticism; no player is.

Stepan isn't playing with the same decisiveness or confidence he had last year. He is projected to have 46 points this season, his worst output since his rookie year. Although I wasn't expecting him to put up 70 points, I was hoping for him to contribute around 57-60 points this year. He's been a disappointment and there's no harm in calling a spade a spade.

 

[chosen]

Stepan is bearing the brunt of this when it is Sather's fault.

He cannot help that he is a very good 2c tossed into the 1c.

 

[chosen]

When Stepan picks his game up will you continue to be so moronically self-righteous?

I would guess yes. Traits don't melt away. They come back in other ways.

 

[Nightshift]

As terrible as Stepan has been, he was set up to fail. He is not a no.1 center. Glaciers retreat faster then he skates. His puck skills in my opinion are overrated. Hes a decent no.2 center at this stage of his career. To expect him to produce at or close to the rate he did last season is just unreasonable and foolish.

 

[TheDirtyH]

I don't think Stepan is being singled out or scapegoated at all... plenty of players have been criticized for underperforming this year: Nash, Del Zotto, Callahan, Lundqvist, etc. Stepan is certainly not immune from criticism; no player is.

Stepan isn't playing with the same decisiveness or confidence he had last year. He is projected to have 46 points this season, his worst output since his rookie year. Although I wasn't expecting him to put up 70 points, I was hoping for him to contribute around 57-60 points this year. He's been a disappointment and there's no harm in calling a spade a spade.

I don't think anyone has written anything disputing that Stepan has disappointed this season and is not playing up to expectations. The debate is whether this slump should define the player Stepan is, has always been, and will always be.

 

[KingWantsCup]

I will shamefully admit I drafted Stepan over Giroux.

In my defense Stepan was a key cog that guided me to a championship win last year!

 

[McRanger]

Stepan is bearing the brunt of this when it is Sather's fault.

He cannot help that he is a very good 2c tossed into the 1c.

If Sather is responsible for anything it's his half of the contract dispute.

Otherwise Sather isn't the one making Stepan whiff on shots or make bad passes or get out-muscled/out-skated on most plays. His issues would be problematic no matter what line he played.

Stepan looks like a different player than the guy who played on the top line and led the team in scoring last year.

He looks like Richards did after the lockout. Like he has no legs under him.

 

[JimmyG89]

Dome ppl would rather be right about a player and he sstruggle than be wrong and have a good player.

 

[OverTheCap]

I don't think anyone has written anything disputing that Stepan has disappointed this season and is not playing up to expectations. The debate is whether this slump should define the player Stepan is, has always been, and will always be.

There are a few posters in here claiming that Stepan has been scapegoated... my post was directed towards them.

 

[DelZottoHitTheNetJK]

I will shamefully admit I drafted Stepan over Giroux.

In my defense Stepan was a key cog that guided me to a championship win last year!

Ouch brother

As terrible as Stepan has been, he was set up to fail. He is not a no.1 center. Glaciers retreat faster then he skates. His puck skills in my opinion are overrated. Hes a decent no.2 center at this stage of his career. To expect him to produce at or close to the rate he did last season is just unreasonable and foolish.

I definitely get what you're saying; Glen is just as much to blame as Stepan for not properly constructing the roster and force feeding Stepan into a slot he shouldn't be in.

But I'm not so sure sticking Stepan between Nash and Kreider is setting him up to fail; I'd argue it's setting him up to succeed and he just looks like straight garbage

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

There are a few posters in here claiming that Stepan has been scapegoated... my post was directed towards them.

Yea, I think some people need to brush up on the term scapegoat. Saying Stepan isn't playing well when hes not playing well is not scapegoating.

The crap posts about Tortorella all of last year? Thats scapegoating.

 

[DekeR]

As terrible as Stepan has been, he was set up to fail. He is not a no.1 center. Glaciers retreat faster then he skates. His puck skills in my opinion are overrated. Hes a decent no.2 center at this stage of his career. To expect him to produce at or close to the rate he did last season is just unreasonable and foolish.

This and the fact that our GM has yet to ice a 1st line in what 6+ years?

 

[Nightshift]

Ouch brother



I definitely get what you're saying; Glen is just as much to blame as Stepan for not properly constructing the roster and force feeding Stepan into a slot he shouldn't be in.

But I'm not so sure sticking Stepan between Nash and Kreider is setting him up to fail; I'd argue it's setting him up to succeed and he just looks like straight garbage

Well you can certainly blame Stepan for whiffing and flubbing most shots he seems to take, that's on him. Being perhaps the worst skater on the team, yup that sure isn't Sather's fault. But it is Sather's fault that he is our best option at 1C.