Derek Stepan’s Effect On The Rangers

What affect has the injury to Derek Stepan had on the Rangers? This has been on the minds of fans since training camp. Has this been a blessing in disguise, in some twisted way? Or has it been a bad omen of things to come for the Blueshirts? Despite the come from behind, gutsy effort to rally from three goals down on Monday, the question still remains: what will happen to the team when Stepan returns? Who should stay and who should go? Will the Rangers be a better team as he takes his place as the number one center? Before we attempt to answer those questions, let’s review what happened that caused the questions to be brought up?

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Coming into this NHL season, the Rangers were counting on Stepan to be the number one center. You may read our feature on Stepan becoming the top line center back in August, by clicking the hyperlink. Throughout his career on Broadway, his offensive production has increased every season. With the financial buyout of Brad Richards, and the departure of Brian Boyle through free agency, Stepan was to center the top line, exclusively. With the Rangers thin at the center position, Stepan appeared to be the best option to fill that role.

Then, the injury happened. Early in training camp, Stepan broke his left fibula during conditioning drills. It was forecasted that the Ranger will be out four to six weeks. His expected return would not be until November of this season. This caused the team to go into scrambling mode.

Right from the start of the season, several options were tried at center to fill the void. One of those was Martin St. Louis. Though exclusively at the wing, the experiment was tried. At the end of preseason into the first few games of the regular season, the St. Louis hypothesis did see the light of the day. Thought it was admirable to step up and play in a position he is not familiar with, it was not to be. He won 39 of 45 faceoffs taken, for a winning percentage under 50 percent. Though his numbers in the faceoff circle have not been not dominant, he tried and you have to admire a guy for trying.

While that was going on, the Rangers had the luxury of taking a look at prospects for a bit longer. The top names that made it to the Opening Day roster were J.T. Miller and Kevin Hayes. Out of the two, Hayes is still with the team. Hayes has one goal and two points, and a -1 in six games played. Even though the youngster has shown that he can play the physical game in the NHL and has shown great patience with the puck, his main fault has been in the faceoff circle. In five games played, Hayes has a 24% winning percentage, losing all but 18 draws in 73 opportunities. With the recent addition of Chris Mueller to the lineup, Hayes has become expendable. He is versatile, in that he can play on the right wing if needed. That option may allow him to stay with the team. However, it would be beneficial for him if he can improve his faceoff skills, since that is where the team is need of at this moment. We will have to wait and see if Hayes is able to stay or be opted for Hartford for seasoning. With the possible loss of defenseman John Moore over a period of games due to his ill-advised elbow to Minnesota Wild’s Erik Haula, a defenseman maybe needed from the Rangers farm team. Along with the team already overloaded with wingers, Hayes may find that he could be the odd man out soon. But, there is always hope that the kid could turn it around at this level. We will wait and see what the coming weeks have in store.

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We all know the J.T. Miller situation. Coming into training camp, lots of fans viewed him as a virtual lock for the third line center position. Good preseason, looked promising. Once the regular season rolled around, his play could not be carried over. He lost the third line center job and was sent back to the AHL. However, Miller hasn’t earned the label “bust” just yet. He is still productive and continues to a force in the AHL. However, why can’t Miller bring his success to the NHL level? Whatever it is, he needs to find down in Hartford.

On Monday, it was learned that Stepan had resume skating for the first time since his injury in October. Steve Zipay of Newsday.com reported that Stepan had been skating on his own, according to Vigneault. A time table of his return is expected next week.

Further, Jim Cerney of blueshirtsunited.com revealed that Stepan might be able to practice with the team soon. Here is his tweet from yesterday:

With the news of Stepan’s return, the question will be brought up: what do the Rangers do? In his absence, the Rangers are 5-4 heading into Saturday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets. Though an up and down season so far, the team has treaded above the .500 line. They have won in every way possible: one-goal, shutout, overtime, shootouts, and come from behind. At times, the Rangers have not played their best hockey. But, with the injury situations to start out and comparing what the team had to go through last season starting on the road, most Rangers fans will take this year. In addition with scoring performances of Rick Nash and the emerging offensive weapon in Anthony Duclair, it would seem Stepan’s addition will only add fuel to the fire.

For Rangers fans everywhere, let us hope that is the case!