New York Rangers: J.T. Miller makes Derek Stepan expendable

Derek Stepan has been a fan favorite since opening his Rangers career with a hat-trick. Stepan scored a series-winning goal and contributed heavily to deep playoff runs, but his time in New York is up in the air. If J.T. Miller proves he can fit at center, Stepan could wind up as trade bait for a defenseman.

The New York Rangers have tremendous forward depth, and putrid depth on the back-end. It’s no secret that New York covets a long term solution for their issues on defense, nor should it be. The Rangers are leading the Metropolitan Division with the best forward group and goaltender in the division. Henrik Lundqvist isn’t getting any younger, and the time to win is now.

Despite his sentimental value to the organization, Derek Stepan is the odd man out in this scenario.

The Montreal Canadiens dealt P.K. Subban days before his no-movement clause kicked in this off-season. The transaction proved that no one was off-limits, and teams take clauses seriously. Derek Stepan’s clause kicks in after the season, around the same time the Expansion Draft will take place.

With the news that Rick Nash must be protected in the Expansion Draft, Derek Stepan became a more optimal move. From our article:

Hayes, Kreider, Miller, Zibanejad, and Zuccarello will be protected barring unforeseen circumstances. One spot will be left for one of Fast, Grabner, Jooris, Lindberg, Puempel, or Stepan. Unless the Rangers seek to shed salary, Stepan will be the forward protected.

Looking to keep Michael Grabner aboard is not reason enough to trade Derek Stepan, while Rick Nash can also be moved to save draft possibilities. The greater concern is that Grabner has fit in tremendously in New York, and his production per his contract outweighs Stepan’s production per his $6.5 Million deal.

Additionally, Grabner provides cheap depth, whereas Stepan provides an expensive top six option for a team with an abundance of top six options. Given the choice of Grabner or Stepan the choice is Stepan, but considering contracts the call is not simple.

The New York Rangers will be seeking a top four defenseman around the time the draft takes place. Teams will be wheeling and dealing, and interest in Stepan should be at its peak once again.

This past off-season rumors of a Matt Dumba for Derek Stepan swap swirled, but the Rangers moved Derick Brassard instead. Brassard was moved because the Rangers had young players ready to take his ice-time, and the player he was swapped for was younger and more effective.

In the upcoming off-season, the Rangers can re-create the Brassard trade, only with a defenseman coming back. Stepan can bring back the top-four defenseman the Rangers desperately need, benefiting the organization tremendously. The concern would be New York having to protect the player in the Expansion Draft, but a buy-out of Dan Girardi’s contract solves that problem.

Buying out Girardi’s contract and trading Stepan saves the Rangers a hefty sum. Kevin Hayes and J.T. Miller are due for extensions in a couple of years, and Ryan McDonagh’s contract is ticking away as well.

Regardless of money gained, an expensive forward for expensive, young defenseman swap would solve a problem for the Rangers without creating a new one. For example, Stepan bringing back Dougie Hamilton gets New York their top four defenseman while remaining fine in top six forwards.

This is where J.T. Miller comes in. Miller plays a major role in determining Stepan’s future with the Rangers. Kevin Hayes has already stamped his spot as a top six center for the Rangers, as has Mika Zibanejad. That leaves New York with one vacant top nine center spot, an important role due to Alain Vigneault’s rolling the top nine equally. Derek Stepan fills the role currently, but J.T. Miller can steal it away.

The insertion of J.T. Miller in at center last night raised eyebrows. Miller has already seen increased penalty-killing time, Stepan’s specialty. Kevin Hayes has excelled in this role as well. The currently injured Mika Zibanejad filled the Power-Play trigger-man vacancy before his injury, a spot Derek Stepan has struggled in. Stepan lacks the quick-thinking abilities and shot to fill the “Ovechkin spot” on the Power-Play. Zibanejad owns those abilities.

J.T. Miller fitting in at center leaves Stepan with zero niche’s unfilled by other members of the Rangers forward group. At $6.5 Million per year, Stepan must provide value others cannot to be worth his contract. Instead, the Power-Play is better off without him, and the Penalty-Kill has enough options without him.

Derek Stepan is a tremendous hockey player that any team would be lucky to have. His ability to play in all situations makes him tremendously valuable to teams lacking forward dept. The Rangers do not lack forward depth, however, so his highest value to the Rangers is as trade bait.

New York has enough centers without Stepan, and taking Miller off of the wing does not create a scarcity of options there. New York boasts Pavel Buchnevich, Chris Kreider, Rick Nash, Jimmy Vesey, and Mats Zuccarello, with cheap additions and Robin Kovacs serving as additional options for the top nine slots.

Next: Nick Holden is not a problem for the Rangers

Stepan’s value could be what ends his time as a Ranger. His departure is by no means a must, but it could be asset management at its finest.