New York Rangers Would Be Foolish to Trade Derek Stepan

New York Rangers Offseason Going Full Swing

With two games (possibly) left in the NHL season, it’s time to think more intently about the offseason. The New York Rangers are one of the most intriguing teams to watch this offseason. They are loaded with big money contracts—$56 million committed to 14 players—, in addition to having a number of no-move and no-trade clauses.

As TSN’s Bob Mckenzie reported, the Rangers are open for business. While there haven’t been any concrete reports about who might be on the move, there have been reports suggesting that the Rangers will listen to offers for almost anyone.

One name that has been mentioned is Derek Stepan, and the Rangers would be foolish to trade him.

According to Larry Brooks of the NY Post, the Minnesota Wild have “serious interest” in Stepan. Stepan signed a six-year, $39 million extension last summer; it includes a full no-trade clause for 2017-18 and 2018-19, and then a modified no-trade clause for the last two years.

Outside of Henrik Lundqvist and Ryan McDonagh, Stepan is the most important player on the Rangers. Two seasons ago, we detailed how important Stepan was to the Rangers offense, and that notion has only grown stronger this year during the games he missed with broken ribs.

The issue is not that the New York Rangers are listening to offers for Stepan; if a team isn’t willing to listen when other teams call, they aren’t doing their job. But Stepan should be one of the players the Rangers want to keep for the long haul, not trade away.

What Makes Stepan Valuable

Stepan has grown into a fantastic two-way player, who regularly matches up with teams best lines; this season, he ranked second and third for the Rangers in CorC% (50.68) and TOIC% (17:91), respectively, per War On Ice.

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As for his offense, you know what you’re getting from Stepan; he’s contributed 44 or more points in all six of his NHL seasons. He also set a career-high in goals this year with 22. His vision is unparalleled, especially when feeding Chris Kreider.

His possession numbers haven’t been great the last two years—46.5 in 2014-15 and 49.5 in 2015-16—but much of that can be contributed to the players he’s been paired with. Stepan has played 653:22 minutes with Dan Girardi the last two seasons, per Stats.HockeyAnalysis. When the two are on the ice together, their CF% is 43.2; comparatively, Stepan doesn’t have a CF% below 44 with any other player he has played 50 minutes with, per Stats.HockeyAnalysis

Stepan has also grown into a leader; he wears an “A”, and shows tremendous accountability. At 25, and entering his seventh season, he’s also a “young” veteran: a player that is entering his prime, but has been in the league long enough to know how to handle himself.

Given that no one knows what the New York Rangers are thinking, it’s hard to wonder what moves they would be willing to  make. Do they consider themselves contenders still? Do they think it’s time to blow it up and rebuild? Or do they want to shift pieces around and try to make a run while they still have Henrik Lundqvist in his prime?

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Also, what would Stepan’s value be to other teams? He is not in the upper echelon of centers, but is unquestionably a top-six center. The Wild were known to be interested in Ryan Johansen last year and were willing to move a young defenseman and a forward, but do they view Stepan that highly?

If the New York Rangers were heading into a rebuild, trading Stepan would make sense; he would net a big return of prospects and/or draft picks. But if the Rangers are trying to re-tool to stay competitive for the last years of the Lundqvist-era, then trading Stepan makes zero sense.