In the end, the Rangers didn't have any other choice. They couldn't afford to let their number one center go to arbitration only to save, what, a couple hundred thousand dollars. So they bit down hard, went all in and signed Derek Stepan to a six-year deal worth $39 million. That's $6.5 million per year. The deal also comes with a no-movement clause, which means, barring Stepan taking an oozie into the Garden and airing the joint out, he's not going anywhere.
Of course the key question begging to be answered is this: Is Stepan worth the money? The answer is yes and no. Yes, because, with the exception of Derick Brassard, there was no one else on the roster capable of putting up the numbers Stepan did last year and pretty much has for his entire tenure with the Blueshirts. Face it, with Marty St. Louis retiring after last year's aborted playoff run, goals are going to be a premium this coming season. Kevin Hayes, Jesper Fast and J.T. Miller may turn out to be excellent scorers, or they could be busts, or something in between. No one knows for sure. Losing Stepan or, worse, having an unhappy Stepan would have been disastrous, especially given that the window for this team is at best two years.
No, because he isn't really a number one center not in the strictest sense of what a number one center means. He's not as valuable as Jonathan Toews, who just signed his own multi-year contract with the Blackhawks for the same amount of money. Seriously, who would you rather have as your number one, Stepan or Toews? The fact is when you compare Derek Stepan to other contending teams' top centers, he comes up short. Good, yes; great, no.
Over his relatively brief career with the Rangers, Stepan has been a reliable scorer. But his two biggest handicaps are his lack of size and his inability to win face-offs; the latter proving far more costly, especially for a team that thrives on puck possession the way the Rangers do. It was nothing short of embarrassing that the number one face-off man was the number four center, Dominic Moore.
Indeed that is one glaring weakness which new General Manager Jeff Gorton failed to address. Sadly, the Rangers will enter this coming campaign a weaker team than they were when they were unceremoniously booted from last year's playoffs. Why? Because Gorton only has $500 thousand of cap space left to his disposal. And, mind you, that was after he was forced to dump Carl Hagelin's contract in exchange for Emerson Etem's.
Realistically, the Rangers are going to have a hard time coming close to matching what they did last year. They are no-where near as deep as they were two years ago when they went to the finals and it is hard to see them winning the division with this squad, much less the Presidents' Trophy or Stanley Cup championship. They still have an imposing defense corps, but they could use some help up front. If Gorton could dangle one of his prized defensemen - say, Dan Girardi or Kevin Klein - for a proven goal scorer with some grit, that could mean the difference between an early playoff exit or a deep playoff run.
