Tim Christian

Almost everyone is saying that the Rangers will come to terms with RFA Derek Stepan before the arbitration date. But will they? There are a lot of factors that say otherwise. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.

As we near the date of Derek Stepan’s arbitration hearing, there seems to be much talk centered around “How Much” and for “How Long”, with many folks feeling the Rangers & Stepan will come to a long-term agreement just under the wire.

Indeed, this has generally been the case with the Rangers. The Rangers last allowed a player to reach an arbitration hearing in 2009. Nikolai Zherdev was the player, and the Rangers chose to not pay him the $3.9 million award.  Instead, they let him walk.

While I certainly don’t think Stepan will be allowed to walk, I do think the Rangers may let arbitration run its course and pay him for 1 or 2 years.  I say this because of:

– Kevin Hayes

– The Rangers’ highly paid Defense

– The Rangers’ highly paid Goaltender

–  The Salary Cap Read the rest of this entry →