New York Rangers: Predicting who will replace Derek Stepan

The New York Rangers need to replace Derek Stepan. Here’s who we think will do it.

Derek Stepan was a New York Ranger for his entire career until the team traded him to the Arizona Coyotes last Friday. Now, New York owns a deficiency at center, one they must solve before the season starts.

Losing Oscar Lindberg to the Las Vegas Golden Knights didn’t help. New York needs to add centers, but not everyone believes that. Opinions vary on Stepan being replaced by a free agent, a traded for player, or a player already on the roster.

If it’s a player already on the roster, Kevin Hayes or Mika Zibanejad are the likely choices. If it’s a newcomer, the choices range greatly. Regardless, someone will be the new #1 center for the New York Rangers.

The Blue Line Station team looks at who that will be in the slides ahead.

Brandon Cohen-

Regardless of who the Rangers do or do not acquire, Mika Zibanejad will spend the most time of anyone as New York’s top line center.

While Alain Vigneault strangely criticized Zibanejad following the Rangers’ postseason exit, Zibanejad was one of the few players who looked impressive during the run. When healthy last season, the newcomer looked headed in the direction of being a top line center.

Additionally, New York’s other options do not look promising. Even if the Rangers sign Joe Thornton, odds are he will need less playing time than a top center gets. Zibanejad will earn the role by scoring early and often, as well as using his ability to play in all situations to his advantage.

So, the prediction is regardless of who the Rangers acquire, Zibanejad will be the top line center.

Daniel Carrozzi-

The New York Rangers’ first line center will be Mika Zibanejad.

I think that Zibanejad will replace Derek Stepan as the team’s number 1 center. I believe that he will be given the ice time and deployment that Stepan had, both 5 on 5 and the powerplay. He won’t get as much shorthanded playing time as Stepan however.

It looks like Zibanejad will be able to make up for the loss of Stepan’s offense as well. Without losing roughly one-third of his season due to injury, he was on pace to score 54 points, one shy of Stepan’s total.

I believe that this is because the Rangers will have little choice but to use an in-house solution to fill their vacancy at 1C. Unfortunately, they won’t find one in this year’s free agent class. I do not think they are willing to pay the price to acquire a first line center from another team either.

In regards to the team’s center depth, I do think they will sign Joe Thornton to a two or three year deal. However, he will see reduced minutes and sheltered match-ups owing to his age and declining production.

The Rangers also have a propensity for signing a defensively responsible center or two each offseason. However, I also think that the team is hoping that newly drafted prospect Lias Andersson makes a huge push to make the roster out of training camp.

Karly Redpath-

Kevin Hayes could take over for Derek Stepan as the top center. Based on how his game changed during last year’s offseason and based on the level of maturity the 24-year-old’s game reflected throughout the regular season, he would be a fit replacement for Stepan.

There are signs that management was looking for Hayes to take a larger role on the faceoff circle last season. Behind Stepan’s 1,522 faceoffs in 81 games was Hayes with 968 in 76 games.

While there are other options on the Rangers roster, Mika Zibanejad likely being one of the Rangers top options, I believe that Hayes’s game could flourish as the top center on the roster.

Though Zibanejad had higher success in the faceoff circle (his faceoff percentage was 52.0% compared to Hayes’s 45.7%), throughout the regular season Hayes showed more consistency offensively and his style of play makes him more likely to shoot on net.

One threat to Hayes’s success in this role would be to put him in more of a defensive role, as we saw in the postseason. Hayes struggled, only putting up three assists in 12 games.

So long as the Rangers avoid this, giving Hayes a shot as the top center in 2017-18 is something that could help him find the full potential of his game.

Justin Starr-

I believe that the New York Rangers and their front office want Mika Zibanejad to replace Derek Stepan as the first line center for this upcoming season. The Rangers will look to resign Zibanejad soon. Once that is all finalized, it will be up to Zibanejad to take the step to the next level.

I wanted to go with the Rangers signing an unrestricted free agent such as Joe Thornton. I just think that Thornton will end up staying in San Jose. If he was brought in, he wouldn’t be the guy replacing Stepan.

I hope Zibanejad is locked up long term and I hope that he is ready to become one of the main guys on the roster. The Rangers are going to put a lot of faith into him throughout this upcoming season.

I think it is safe to say that all Ranger fans are hoping that Zibanejad is ready to take the next step in his career.

Lou Venditti-

It’s time for Mika Zibanejad to step up and become the New York Rangers’ number one center. The timing couldn’t be better.

Zibanejad is coming off a successful season, albeit marred by injury. He showed flashes of pure brilliance in the way he handled and let his shots rip all season long. Zibanejad knows the Rangers system and already has chemistry with Chris Kreider, who regularly features on the first line.

It’s almost as if his destiny was to come in and be the first line center when Stepan couldn’t be anymore.

Zibanejad is about to really start the prime of his career, and while he’s young, increasing his workload as the number one center for the Rangers can only make him better from here.

Alexandra Russo-

The trading of top center Derek Stepan was a shock to everyone. He may not have performed to his greatest abilities in the 2017 Playoffs, but he was reliable for the regular season. And he had been for the past seven seasons since his first game when he scored a hat trick against the Buffalo Sabres.

With him out of the picture, there are way too many questions that have surfaced and not enough answers. Whoever takes his position has big shoes to fill and should be able to put up a lot of points, at least 45.

Considering the Rangers are always looking for that ideal “young and fast” group of forwards, I think Mika Zibanejad is going to get the call to fill the position as the team’s number one center. He’s got the experience and had a great season with the Rangers despite missing two months due to a leg injury.

He also proved his reliability in the playoffs, which gives Alain Vigneault another reason to trust him. The Rangers will still need to find another center (or ideally two) before the end of this offseason, but the position of being a number one center is one that’s hard to fill. And I think Zibanejad will be thrust into that position and it’ll make him (and the team as a whole) better for it.

John Cavanagh

When the Rangers swung a trade that shipped Derek Stepan to Arizona, one would wonder where Stepan’s replacement would come from. However, the Rangers should look no further than the current roster.

The growth of 24 year old Mika Zibanejad will continue if he’s thrown into the spot as the teams top center. Zibanejad was acquired by the Rangers last off-season for many reasons, but one of them was because he is a good two-way player.

Derek Stepan was one of the best two-way players on the team, and was trusted to play against the teams top lines. With this opportunity, Zibanejad could seize this role as his.

Zibanejad was having a great year for the Rangers until he broke his fibula in late November. In the 19 game before his injury, Zibanejad had 15 points.

Consistency was an issue when Zibanejad came back, but he still finished the season with 14 goals and 23 assists for 37 points.

Zibanejad can continue to elevate his game, and will be more familiar with the team in his second year here. If anything, the Rangers should look to sign a bottom six center. The top six is taken care of.

Josh Lipman-

Mika Zibanejad will be the Rangers’ number one center next season. Only a broken fibula kept Zibanejad from establishing himself as the team’s top pivot in 16-17. Strangely enough, the front office is probably quite happy about that given Zibanejad’s restricted free agent status.

Zibanejad’s strong playoff performance and chemistry with Chris Kreider point toward an offensive explosion. While the dynamic Swede is poised to take the number one mantle Derek Stepan vacated, New York still needs someone to handle defensive matchups.

Neither Zibanejad nor Kevin Hayes play styles suited to that role.

The Rangers will go outside their organization to add a veteran defensive center. Though they may try to woo Joe Thornton, expect New York to add a lesser name such as Martin Hanzal or Brian Boyle. General manager Jeff Gorton could also investigate the availability of a center through trade like Winnipeg’s Mathieu Perreault.

George Ruggiero-

Following the Rangers pre-draft blockbuster with the Arizona Coyotes, a huge question still needs to be answered. Who will replace Derek Stepan as the Rangers 1C? Although the solution could come from many different sources, I think the answer comes from free agency.

The market this season is moderately thin at the center position, but there is an option the Rangers could explore. Joe Thornton has been one of the NHL’s premier playmakers throughout his career. He is the biggest free agent name this season and don’t be surprised if the Rangers bring in the aging forward.

The 37 year old had an unspectacular season by his standard: scoring 7 goals and putting up 43 assists for 50 points in 79 games. After the end of his postseason run, it was announced that Thornton was playing on a torn ACL and MCL, a ridiculous feat of toughness and dedication to his teammates. Honestly, signing Joe Thornton would be the most Rangers thing the Rangers could do.

Thornton is in the twilight of his career, however, he remains productive. The Rangers have set the precedent that they are more than willing to sign the aging vet and allow him rather than let a young player work his way up the lineup. I do not believe that signing Thornton is the Rangers’ best move, but it does seem the most likely.

Jack Milewski-

The answer to who will replace Derek Stepan is within. His name is Mika Zibanejad. The center has shown steady improvement in his first six seasons and without an injury last year would have likely topped his career high of 51 points. Zibanejad is ready to take the next step and become a number one center.

While the Rangers will probably have to test the free agent market to find a player down the middle, a number one center’s price would be too high. My guess is the Rangers will see this too and opt for a lesser deal for either a third or fourth liner.

That will still solve the center problem, but they simply won’t have to overpay for a number one center. That’s a good thing considering Zibanejad is ready to be just that.

With Zibanejad at center, the Rangers can focus on revamping their blue line through free agency, rather than trying to find a piece that they already have.

The thought of replacing Derek Stepan is tough, but the solution isn’t nearly as difficult. Zibanejad is the guy.

Garrett Gartino-

As the New York Rangers look ahead to their 2017-18 season, they will be without a true first line center. Derek Stepan, one of the team’s alternate captains, is departed to Arizona to begin a new chapter of his career.

Luckily, GM Jeff Gorton has a built in plan B in budding star Mika Zibanejad. The dynamic, Sweden native is still just 24 years old with plenty of growth left to prove. In an injury shortened 2016-17 season, Zibanejad produced 14 goals and 23 assists in 56 games played.

There will be a learning curved for Zibanejad, who will be asked to play the toughest defensive minutes of his young career. However, with an increase in responsibility should come an increase in pride in his role.

Fans should expect big things from Zibanejad atop the Rangers’ center depth chart. His presence there will only help the team’s core unit flourish for years to come.