derek stepan

What a goal this was.

The New York Rangers have agreed to terms with RFA center Derek Stepan on a multi-year contract. Per Larry Brooks, it is a six year deal worth $6.5 million per year. This makes Stepan the second highest paid skater on the Rangers (Rick Nash) at just 25 years old. The deal expires when Stepan is 31, so the Rangers are locking up Stepan’s prime years at a relative bargain price. The deal has a no-trade clause for the early years and a no-move clause for the last years.

Stepan put up a career high pace last year, with a line of 16-39-55 in 68 games. Stepan missed the first 14 games of the season with a broken fibula, the first injury of his career that forced him to miss regular season time. When you average that out to 82 games, he was on pace for 19 goals and 66 points.

The 25-year-old is clearly the Rangers top line center, playing in all situations with difficult matchups. He had a hiccup this season with his possession numbers, but that may be due to dragging Martin St. Louis around for most of the season. He’s a positive possession player for his career, so there’s no reason to believe last year was anything but a blip.

Make no mistake, Stepan left money on the table in this deal. He’s a top line center in his prime signing his first big contract. If you assume Ryan O’Reilly’s deal is a comparable (two years at $6 million and four at $7.5 million), then Stepan left at least $3 million on the table. Those wanting him to take a discount, there it is. That isn’t chump change.

The Rangers now have their top center locked up through his prime years at a discounted price. Tough to really complain about this deal.

Update: Per Renaud Lavoie, here is the breakdown of Stepan’s contract:

  • 2015-2016, 2016-2017: $8 million
  • 2017-2018: $7 million
  • 2018-2019: $6 million
  • 2019-2020, 2020-2021: $5 million

 

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