The New York Rangers have an interesting dilemma on their hands at present - restricted free agent center Derek Stepan has turned himself into a heck of an NHL player in recent seasons, to the tune of 89 goals and 163 assists in 362 NHL games. As a restricted free agent though, while he remains under the Rangers and new GM Jeff Gorton's control, he's not currently signed to a contract.
The Buffalo Sabres recently handed a big new extension to center Ryan O'Reilly, a player they acquired from the Colorado Avalanche shortly after the 2015 NHL Draft, and one who carries very comparable, and in many instances, less impressive, numbers than Stepan.
The seven-year, $52 million contract extension given to O'Reilly by the Sabres may, as Larry Brooks of the NY Post suggests, eventually prove to be a feather in the cap of sorts for Stepan and his representatives as they attempt to hammer out a new deal with the Rangers.
"In a flash, Friday's agreement between the needy Sabres and the 24-year-old center they obtained from Colorado last weekend blows to smithereens any hope the Blueshirts had of signing the 25-year-old Group II free agent center Stepan to a long-term deal in the range of $6.2 million to $6.5 million per," writes Brooks.
"It likely means Stepan, whose numbers are superior to O'Reilly's in every meaningful category other than faceoff efficiency, not only will file for salary arbitration by Sunday's 5 p.m. deadline, but could be in line for a two-year award taking him to unrestricted free agency worth well over $7 million per."
As Brooks notes, the Rangers dealt Carl Hagelin at least in part because they wanted to clear space for a new Stepan deal. But if salary arbitration between the Broadway Blueshirts and Stepan reaches the level of $7 or $8 million per season on a two-year bridge deal, it could even mean a potential trade is not only possible, but necessary.
"There is negotiating to be done here, negotiating between Gorton and Stepan's representative, Matt Oates and, concurrently, negotiating between Gorton and league GMs regarding potential trades. Those not only would pertain to Stepan, but to either Rick Nash or Keith Yandle, with Yandle the most likely candidate to go, if the mandate is to clear space for No. 21," writes Brooks.
"If the Rangers believe Kevin Hayes is ready to become the team's second-line center, then the Rangers could look for a package in return for Stepan that would include a legitimate, physical checking center that would change the look of the team."
The Rangers, per NHLNumbers.com, currently have about $9.6 million in salary cap space. The team did well at the outset of the latest league year to add cheap, short-term forwards like Viktor Stalberg and Brian Gibbons, but something somewhere on the Rangers roster has to give at some point.
While it's unlikely that any changes will start with Stepan, changes must still be made and the Rangers that reached the Eastern Conference Finals last season are likely to look very different from the ones who take the ice for the start of the 2015-16 regular season.
