Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports
On September 18, we received two updates on the status of Derek Stepan. He will not make the team’s trip out west to finish out the preseason with New York, and he was removed from the team’s active roster.
Neither of these deal with Stepan and New York Rangers GM Glen Sather‘s current contract negotiations — or did they? Either way, this can’t be conceived as good news for Rangers fans by any stretch of the imagination. Even though the Rangers, Stepan and his agent all have not released any further updates on Stepan’s new contract, it is safe to say that negotiations have not gone smoothly.
But when it is all said and done and October rolls around, will Stepan eventually get signed to a new deal and join the Rangers out west to start the regular season?
I think so, but do not quote me on that. While I am not a member of the Rangers’ front office, I still know that Stepan is the team’s no. 1 center and the Rangers need his point production in the lineup if they want to have a successful season.
They was get back to where they were two years ago and go to the Eastern Conference Finals, only this time advance even further. It just would not be a wise move to have Stepan sit out, and Sather knows this … I hope.
Steven Carollo is a New York Rangers’ and sports writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter, add him on Facebook, connect with him on LinkedIn, and join his Google network.
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