New York Rangers: What if Staal was bought out instead of trading Stepan?

The New York Rangers blew up part of their core last offseason when they bought out defenseman Dan Girardi and traded center Derek Stepan. While buying out Girardi had long been the plan, the Stepan move seemed to come out of nowhere. Did they have to trade Stepan?

When the New York Rangers traded Derek Stepan to the Arizona Coyotes for a prospect and a pick, it signaled the end of an era in New York. Stepan had long been a fan favorite for the Rangers, having been drafted by the organization in 2008. He made his debut in 2010, scoring a hat trick in his first NHL game.

Stepan was traded to the Coyotes with Antti Raanta for Tony DeAngelo and the 7th round pick in the 2017 draft, which the Rangers used to draft Lias Andersson. The move looked short sighted, leaving the Rangers with just two centers after losing Oscar Lindberg to the expansion Vegas Golden Knights and not taking a center in return for Stepan. It appeared that the Rangers would look towards free agency to grab a center, but the Rangers missed out.

Why trade Stepan?

The reasoning behind the Stepan trade is murky at best. Stepan’s no-movement clause was about to kick in, but his cap hit was reasonable for a locker room staple and top six center. At $6.5 million on the cap for the next four seasons, Stepan was well worth the money. The opening of cap space allowed the Rangers to sign Mika Zibanejad to a healthy deal. The rest of it ended up being wasted without a significant move to shore up the center spot.

The trade felt unnecessary. The Rangers shot themselves in the foot by weakening their center depth which made general manager Jeff Gorton rely on draft picks. Both Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil are not currently playing the league. Tony DeAngelo has already been sent down to Hartford. There are no assets from the Stepan trade on the Rangers roster, and the Rangers still have a glaring hole in their top six at center.

What if they bought out Staal?

Now, the Stepan move was likely for cap space and to avoid being nailed to an aging player, but Stepan was well worth his money. Stepan was coming off his fourth consecutive 50+ point season. So, what if the Rangers bought out Marc Staal instead of trading Stepan?

The Rangers bought out Dan Girardi during the first buyout period. It didn’t come as a surprise as Girardi’s performance has plummeted in recent seasons. Staal has been in the same boat. Staal is owed $5.7 million for the next four seasons but hasn’t proven himself to be worth that money since before his contract was signed. If Girardi was able to be bought out, Staal could easily be as well.

How it’d work

If the Rangers bought out Staal instead of trading Stepan, the Rangers would look very different this season. They’d look much younger for starters. Staal off the blue line opens a spot for any of the Rangers’ young defensemen currently relegated to Hartford, such as Neal Pionk or Alexei Bereglazov.

On the back end, the Rangers would lose Tony DeAngelo. It wouldn’t be a huge loss. DeAngelo is currently developing in Hartford after Alain Vigneault failed to use him adequately over the first 10 games of the season. However, DeAngelo is a talented defenseman. The problem is that the Rangers have plenty of young, talented defensemen. DeAngelo never had a clear spot on the Rangers’ roster. The fact that the Rangers traded for DeAngelo is a head scratcher alone seeing as it’s caused a logjam on the back end.

Up front, the Rangers would be more experienced and just as dangerous. Losing Stepan threw the Rangers’ offense into a storm. Vigneault still hasn’t been able to pin down a replacement at the second line for Stepan. He’s been shuffling between Kevin Hayes, David Desharnais and J.T. Miller. With Stepan, the Rangers would have a sense of certainty. Stepan can be relied on to score 50 points in a season. There’d be no need to keep shuffling lines, and the Rangers offense could do what it needs to do.

Next: Comparing the Stepan and Hagelin trades

There was almost no reason for the New York Rangers to deal Derek Stepan last offseason. The absence of Stepan has thrown the Rangers’ offense out of whack, as well as the locker room. The Rangers very easily could’ve bought Marc Staal’s contract out instead of trading Stepan with better results.