DEREK STEPAN - Center - 29 - $6.9MM Cap Hit - UFA in 2021-2022
LAST UPDATED 7/25/19
Until Arizona's team-wide offensive struggles caught up to Derek Stepan, his production had been remarkably consistent throughout his career. Since his incredible near-PPG season in 2012-2013, Stepan had scored between 57 and 53 points in every NHL season, until scoring only 35 this past season. Stepan is an above-average playmaker, with underrated puck skills and a good playmaking mind. He's a smart player, which allows him to be a decent two-way player, but his ability to be relatively responsible in his own end cannot be confused with Stepan being a defensively capable center. He's good enough defensively for it to not drag down his offensive contributions too much, but he cannot take on tough defensive assignments like true 1C's should be able to. That goes into a larger point: Stepan is not the 1C most Rangers fans were touting him to be early in his career. He is not an elite skater, and therefore struggles to find enough time and space for him to produce points at a regular level. That being said, Stepan is skilled enough to be a reliable ~55 point scorer, making him a perfect second line center, as long as the team he plays for isn't offensively crippled, like Arizona was this past season.
Until Arizona's team-wide offensive struggles caught up to Derek Stepan, his production had been remarkably consistent throughout his career. Since his incredible near-PPG season in 2012-2013, Stepan had scored between 57 and 53 points in every NHL season, until scoring only 35 this past season. Stepan is an above-average playmaker, with underrated puck skills and a good playmaking mind. He's a smart player, which allows him to be a decent two-way player, but his ability to be relatively responsible in his own end cannot be confused with Stepan being a defensively capable center. He's good enough defensively for it to not drag down his offensive contributions too much, but he cannot take on tough defensive assignments like true 1C's should be able to. That goes into a larger point: Stepan is not the 1C most Rangers fans were touting him to be early in his career. He is not an elite skater, and therefore struggles to find enough time and space for him to produce points at a regular level. That being said, Stepan is skilled enough to be a reliable ~55 point scorer, making him a perfect second line center, as long as the team he plays for isn't offensively crippled, like Arizona was this past season.
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