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“Hey guy’s, look at me, I’m a bargain! “Photo by Elsa/Getty Images

With Derek Stepan’s new contract it’s a fair assumption that the Rangers have locked up their top two center positions for the foreseeable future. Stepan and Brassard will cost the Rangers a total of $11.5m, but with finances, age, contract situations and production all considered, are the Rangers in a good spot with their top center duo when compared to the better centers around the league?

This post has its flaws; it only looked at teams who had multiple centers amongst the top thirty scoring centers from last year’s regular season. Obviously there are other factors that need to be considered such as injuries, positional flexibility, form over multiple seasons and the development of prospects moving forward. At present, only the Sharks boasted three centers amongst the top thirty scorers at the position although Joe Pavelski played mostly as a winger on Joe Thornton’s line.

A quick overview of the players (and teams) amongst ‘the top thirty’ and the Rangers don’t necessarily have the star power or elite names that many of the other teams who feature can boast. The Rangers don’t have a Steven Stamkos, Sidney Crosby, Anze Kopitar or Tyler Seguin. What the Rangers do have though are two players with upside, who are under contract together for the next four years and who have both proven themselves in both the regular season and playoffs.

So who’s who in the top thirty?

Tampa are arguably the team in the most enviable position but even Tampa has question marks. In Steven Stamkos Tampa has one of the league’s best players who is just 25 and with Tyler Johnson they have stumbled across a budding star who is also just 25 but Tampa has to lock down Stamkos next summer. Stamkos will surely command a max contract unless he takes a hometown discount but will he entertain free agency? Stamkos would be the best player (age, production, ability all considered) to ever hit the open market in the free agency era. Tampa then, has a headache on their hands.

Pittsburgh has obvious star power. With arguably the league’s best player in Crosby, as well as Evgeni Malkin, they have two players that are locked down long term who have both led the league in scoring. The Pens are however approaching cap hell and have far too much cap space committed up front; changes will surely come in the future. The bigger question mark may focus on Malkin. Malkin cannot stay healthy (for that matter Crosby also isn’t an iron man) as the big Russian has played more than 70 games just once since 2008. Can the Pens seriously compete for another Cup while keeping both Malkin and Crosby?

A team similar to Tampa are the Kings. The Kings may feature the best two way center in the league in Anze Kopitar who, like Stamkos, is also approaching free agency. Kopitar’s contract situation has already seen LA move out players to try and help accommodate his next extension. With Jeff Carter in the fold, the Kings have a fine one-two punch at center but Carter has blown hot and cold and Kopitar’s next contract in Los Angeles (there’s been no reason to believe he’ll get to free agency) will surely further impact the depth the Kings can put out.

The San Jose Sharks. Somehow, the Sharks didn’t make the playoffs last year despite boasting a boat load of offensive talent. The Sharks have so much depth at center that natural centers such as Joe Pavelski and Patrick Marleau spend most of their time on the wing. Moving forward the Sharks are in a good position at center. Pavelski can easily move back to center when the aging Joe Thornton and Marleau move on while Logan Couture and the talented Tomas Hertl are both highly, skilled natural centers. Couture, Pavelski and Thornton combined to cost the Sharks a shade under 19m and are all under contract for another two years. However, are the Sharks top heavy and can aging players such as Thornton continue to provide value?

Staying out west, another one of the league’s best young centers is at home in Dallas. Tyler Seguin is just 23 and brings with him a bargain 5.75m cap hit for another four years. Backing up Seguin is Jason Spezza who has been one of the leagues steadiest stars for a decade; he too has another four years left on his deal but costs an increasingly expensive 7.5m annually. Spezza appears to be in decline and questions should be asked whether Dallas should have committed to another four years.

Surprisingly Dallas actually spends close to the cap and has some serious cap decisions to make regarding their blueline next summer while their goaltending situation isn’t enviable. Do they have too much money allocated at center?

Last but not least of the teams boasting multiple centers among the league’s ‘top thirty’ are the Detroit Red Wings. The biggest issues for the Wings are age and an increasing lack of health at center. Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk have been two of the league’s best centers for over a decade and they still produce. However, with a combined age of 71 and with Datsyuk rarely healthy the future doesn’t belong to the two veteran stars. Eventually, the Wings will need to move on from their star centers. The Wings have a quality prospect in Dylan Larkin but his eventual impact at the NHL level is still unknown.

How do the Rangers dynamic duo compare?

The Rangers have committed 11.5m to their pair of top six centers which, amongst all of the teams considered, is the second lowest number behind Tampa. However, Tampa will surely commit more to the position if you assume Stamkos re-ups in Florida.

Stepan and Brassard are also the second youngest tandem amongst this list (again, coming second to Tampa) so the Rangers haven’t committed to aging stars (such as Spezza or Thornton) and have invested their cap space sensibly. With Brassard having only missed four games over the past three regular seasons and Stepan having missed his first regular season games ever at the start of the last year, the Rangers’ relative youth has also proven to be durable. The Rangers have no health issues at the position compared to those seen in Pittsburgh or Detroit.

Depth and value for money win in the modern NHL and the Rangers are getting good value for their money at the center position. They have two players whose ceilings may not yet have been reached and with sensible long term commitments and with an increasing cap ceiling, the deals for Stepan and Brassard will look increasingly favourable over the next few years.

What the Rangers lack in star power at center they make up for in depth, relative youth, durability and contract terms particularly when you factor in Kevin Hayes and prospects such as Oscar Lindberg. Stepan’s new deal has somehow divided opinion among the fanbase but it looks even more favourable when you look at his deal as part of an overall positional review rather than analysing it individually.

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