New York Rangers Must Enhance Defense in Potential Derek Stepan Trade
The New York Rangers must decide if one of the most prominent pieces of their core still fits in with the team going forward.
This week has the potential to be a crucial one in New York Rangers history. With the NHL Awards in Las Vegas Wednesday Night and the NHL Draft on Friday and Saturday, all 30 teams are going to be busy. Also with these events all happening in the span of a few days, there are going to be a lot of teams talking trade all across the league.
According to a bunch of different reports out there, there is no team busier than the New York Rangers in said trade talks. Along with all the talk about the Rangers shopping players such as Rick Nash, Marc Staal, and Dan Girardi, one player who has had his name thrown out there a ton in the past couple days has been the team’s number one center, Derek Stepan.
According to James Mirtle of TSN and theGlobeandMail.com, he can see a potential fit for Stepan on a team like the Arizona Coyotes. Stepan has 5 years remaining on his contract. His cap hit over the course of the contract is $6.5 million. Stepan just turned 26 years old on Saturday and has already played in 85 career playoff games.
That kind of young, veteran experience can be a great thing for the young locker room in Arizona. Also, the Coyotes need to be able to reach the salary cap floor, so adding the $6.5 million cap hit that Stepan has would certainly help. Stepan just tallied his career high in goals this past season with 22 and has scored 50+ points in each of his past 4 full, 82 game-long NHL seasons.
One name Mirtle mentions as part of a potential return package would be veteran center Martin Hanzel. The 6’5″ center Hanzel is often injured, having not played more than 65 games in a season since 2009-2010. It is worth noting that while Hanzel brings lots of sandpaper to the team, he has averaged .63 points per game over the past 3 seasons compared to Stepan’s .74 points per game.
As far as puck possession, the 29-year-old Hanzel and Stepan have very similar numbers. Hanzel’s Corsi For Percentage last year was 49.4% while Stepan’s was 49.1%. Hanzel has 1 year remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $3.1 million. It is also worth noting that Hanzel was 13th in the league last year in faceoff percentage, winning them at a 56% clip.
More from Editorials
- Rangers’ Playoff Redemption Recipe: Grit and Fresh Hopes
- Rangers’ Roster Chatter: Who’s Making the Cut and Who’s in the Penalty Box?
- These Rangers must learn Peter Laviolette’s ropes before they can fly
- Filip Chytil Could Take Major Steps in the 2023-24 Season
- Looking forward to the upcoming season for Artemi Panarin
I think Hanzel could be a nice addition to the Rangers forward group, adding a bit of snarl while also putting points on the board and filling a hole as a stud faceoff man if veteran Dominic Moore ends up leaving the team via free agency. Obviously, he is a pretty sizeable downgrade from Stepan, so the Rangers would have to get more coming back to them in a potential deal then just Hanzel. Whether it is in a deal with the Coyotes or anybody else, if the Rangers do indeed trade Stepan, they need to use it as an opportunity to completely rebuild their defense.
Would the Coyotes give up a guy like Oliver Ekman-Larsson in a deal for Stepan? I highly doubt it. Could they dangle their former first-round pick Connor Murphy in trade talks? Murphy played on the Coyotes top defensive pairing last season, tallying 6 goals and 17 points in 78 games with a +5 rating. Murphy’s CF% was 46.6% last season. The 23-year-old from Dublin, Ohio looks to be an up and coming stud defender, so maybe the Rangers could be enticed by him.
If the Rangers move Stepan, it can’t be the only deal they make. They absolutely have to trade one of Marc Staal and Dan Girardi to clear some cap space and to create a roster spot for a defender they may acquire in a Stepan deal. You could probably get away with having one of Girardi and Staal next year, but the other has to be moved. There have to be plenty other moving pieces as well to make this, or any other trade the team makes a success going forward.
Under no circumstances, however, should the Rangers feel that they need to trade Stepan. Stepan is a very good two-way center who probably hasn’t hit his ceiling yet. I personally would love to see him in a Rangers uniform for the length of his contract, but if there is a deal out there that will help the team today and in the future, then GM Jeff Gorton and his staff have to take it.
Next: New York Rangers Stash or Trash: Dominic Moore
There is little room for error this offseason. This week is going to have Rangers news and perhaps even a trade or two. Pay close attention, because it could be very telling of whats to come for this team down the road.