How come no news on re-signing Stepan?

[dumpstralmannow]

The discussion was not in any way 31 about the playoffs. Bringing that up was a dumb point. If you did some research you would clearly see that most all offensive players have their point production drop significantly in the playoffs. Teams play much tighter defense in the playoffs.

Also, Dubinsky took 4 NHL seasons before he hit the 50 point mark. Stepan did it in his second season and the way he was going last year he probably would have finished with 70+ points over 82 games. Projecting Stepan 31 is not based on 30 games. It's based on opening your freakin eyes and actually watching the guy play offense. Dubinsky should have become a great second line center in this league. He's a fat, lazy, slob. His rep in junior was that he was lazy which is why he slipped into the late second round.

If you remember, I did not like the Dubinsky contract at all when he got it. So for somebody you say I was so high on, you would think that I would have been OK with his contract. I wasn't. I stated he was overpaid badly. I also didn't like the Richards contract because of the length.

 

[dumpstralmannow]

Plus, last year Stepan only had 10 centers in the entire NHL with more points than him I believe. That's after a slow start. When could you ever say that about Dubinsky after his first 4 years when he got that contract? Again, the comparison was foolish.

 

[dumpstralmannow]

Stepan was also 21st in the league for scoring. 5 points away from being in the top 5 and he was absolutely on fire after a slow start. In comparison, Dubinsky when he had his 54 point season was 71st in the league in scoring. You are comparing two players that you simply can't compare. Not to mention if you buy into +/- at all, Stepan had the 4th highest plus/minus at plus 25 in the top 25 scorers. Only Crosby, Kunitz who mooched off of Crosby and Toews were better. I usually don't buy into that stat but sometimes it means something. In Stepan's case, the team was basically average all season so for him to be a plus 25 actually was impressive.

 

[Ranger71]

He still needs to get stronger and take more of a 'bull by the horns' mentality for the whole season. But he's a solid tier 2 C for sure.

 

[dumpstralmannow]

Disagree. He's absolutely a number 1 center. Again, there were only 10 centers in the entire league that had more points than him last year. That's it. That's basically nothing.

 

[NYR31]

again, let's see Stepan prove it over a full season that he's a 1st line center, not over 30gms. Until he does that he's just had a good 30gm stretch out of 200+ career games. Not sure why it's so difficult to grasp this.

 

[Ranger71]

To be fair I'd say he's a 1C/2A center right now, with the possibility of becoming a 1B over time. He's sort of in the Derek Roy/Ribiero class to me.

 

[Puckmeat]

While I've been impressed with Stepan since his first game, I will say that he's not a point a game player. This is by no means a knock on his ability, he's just young still. I do see him having a great career, with a few seasons at a PPG level, I still feel he's a few seasons away from that. He is by all means a 1st Line center, especially on the Rangers, with Richards having an off year. Unless Richards turns it completely around and just flies out of the gate, expect Stepan to be the no. 1 center. To be perfectly honest, its not really a bad position to be in, one or two, I don't care. Richards needs to get better this year, and Stepan playing like he ought to all year will be a god thing.

Sorry if thats hard to follow, I'm all dosed on pain meds. Stupid neck...

 

[dumpstralmannow]

Roy and Ribero are awful defensive players. They are one dimensional. Stepan is not. What is hard to grasp 31 is that you can't seem to get it in your head that proven point per game players get 8 y, 64 million dollar contracts. This thread was about Stepan getting 4 Y and around 4 million. You are a completely moronic as an organization if you have a guy you think will be a PPG player and wait until he actually does it over 82 games before giving him a long term contract. If Stepan plays 82 games this year and has 75 to 85 points, you have NO Chance of signing him to less than 6 million a year at 6 years. If he did it two years in a row, you are looking at 8 y, 64 to 72 million. It's better to sign him now to a 4 year deal at 4 to 4.5 million.

 

[BigDaddyAl1973]

umm having snipers like Gabby and Nash didnt help his almost point per game? Look I like the kid..but come on dump you were fucking glowing on how Dubi was going to be this great power forward, hard nose two way player...he got dicked by the organization with his early contract then scored big time..then he may have gotten lazy...or he could have been bounced around by the coach..what ever it was..his play sucked in his last season..i get that..but...we are basing stepan off one very good season ...lets see it again

 

[NYR31]

umm having snipers like Gabby and Nash didnt help his almost point per game? Look I like the kid..but come on dump you were fucking glowing on how Dubi was going to be this great power forward, hard nose two way player...he got dicked by the organization with his early contract then scored big time..then he may have gotten lazy...or he could have been bounced around by the coach..what ever it was..his play sucked in his last season..i get that..but...we are basing stepan off one very good season ...lets see it again

make that off very good 30gms, which is even worse.

I'll be here glowing about Stepan as much as anyone when he shows he's the real deal over 82gms, not 30.