Hartnett: Derek Stepan On Track To Be A Special Player In Rangers History

By Sean Hartnett
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Derek Stepan has accomplished much in his young career and he will only improve over the course of the six-year, $39 million contract he signed on Monday.

After narrowly missing out on a second consecutive Stanley Cup Final appearance, Stepan and the Rangers have their eyes focused on taking the next step as a group by delivering a championship parade down the Canyon of Heroes.

"We've got a competitive group and there's nothing but exciting things to come for us moving forward," Stepan said during Monday's conference call. "To be able to be a part of this for the next six years and try to find a way to take that next step in our team's goals and (getting over) that extra hump, it's really cool and it's a special feeling to be a part of it."

If the Rangers are to accomplish their goal of lifting Lord Stanley in the next six years, their 25-year-old center will have played an integral role. Stepan has established himself as a highly dependable player in all situations on a Rangers team that has reached the Eastern Conference Final in three of the past four seasons. Alongside star forward Rick Nash, Stepan is entrusted with high-minute totals on both the power play and penalty kill.

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"He's a complete center," Nash said in May. "I think he's one of the best two-way centers in the league. He's a fun guy to play with. His game is so mature for his age. He wears a letter on his shirt and he's definitely one of the leaders on the team."

If Stepan could be summed up with one word, it would be trustworthy. Even in his earliest days as a 20-year-old rookie under demanding and defensively obsessed head coach John Tortorella, Stepan could be counted on as a valuable contributor to the Blueshirts' cause. Where other rookies may have been overwhelmed, Stepan thrived in a baptism of fire under the fiery Tortorella. There weren't many hiccups or growing pains as Stepan quickly adapted to life in the NHL fresh out of the University of Wisconsin.

Flash-forward to present day and Stepan has continued to take strides forward. Some players take one great leap into stardom. For Stepan, it's been a gradual process. With every passing year, he's improved. Had he not fractured his left fibula during a training camp conditioning drill, Stepan would have eclipsed the 60-point mark for the first time in his career and smashed his career-high of 40 assists. He finished his fifth season with 16 goals, 39 assists, 55 points and a career-best plus-26 rating in 68 games.

Even though plus/minus is considered to be a flawed statistic, it's still remarkable that Stepan ranked 10th in the NHL and third among all centers in plus/minus rating. Stepan is a career plus-85 since his 2010 NHL debut. It's a testament to his responsible two-way game. He finished last season tied for the league lead in shorthanded assists (three) and was tied for second in shorthanded points (five).

You won't find the word panic in Stepan's personal dictionary. He simply makes smart plays all over the ice. Stepan was one of only three NHL players to record 55 or more points, post a plus-25 rating or higher and commit 25 or fewer penalty minutes last season.

Serving as alternate captain, Stepan has grown into a mature leader whom head coach Alain Vigneault turns to for a second opinion. AV knows Stepan has the pulse of the dressing room.

"He is definitely one of the players in our dressing room that I ask his opinion on a number of things," Vigneault said during the Eastern Conference Final. "Very bright, very articulate, good person; knows what it takes to be successful and wants to be successful. He's got a great read in our room on who needs help and who he can touch in a positive way. So, he's definitely a guy that I lean on."

Stepan takes pride in the responsibility of being a leader and is accessible to teammates. He enjoys imparting his wisdom to both youngsters and fellow veterans.

"I'm going to continue to try to grow as a leader and continue to try to help new guys that are coming in -- new faces -- and (help) guys that are old faces when they need someone to come to," Stepan said. "We still have a young group of guys that are still learning this game. We have a lot of talent and a lot of hard workers."

Having suited up for 80 postseason games, Stepan already ranks eighth-highest in franchise history in playoff games played. It's all about taking the next step – and Stepan can help the Rangers get there.

"I'm grateful," Stepan said. "I came into the league and I was given an opportunity to be part of an Original Six team, an organization that has treated me extremely well, and now I get to go into my next six years with them. I think we have an exciting group of guys and we have a group of guys that want to take that next step, and that was our main goal right from the beginning."

The arrow is definitely pointing up for Stepan. He is one of five players in team history to record at least 40 points in each of his first five seasons. In 2014-15, he became the first Rangers center since Wayne Gretzky to record 50 points or more in three consecutive 82-game seasons.

Over the past three seasons, the Minnesota native has averaged 0.788 points per game. That's 45th-highest of all NHL skaters and better than fellow centers Patrick Marleau (0.745), Tyler Johnson (0.74), Patrice Bergeron (0.734) and Ryan O'Reilly (0.728).

Given how talented Stepan is at this early stage of his career and all that he's accomplished at just 25,  he's on course to become a special player in the Rangers' rich history.

Follow Sean on Twitter @HartnettHockey.