Derek Stepan and Rangers agree on long-term deal hours before arbitration

The New York Rangers have signed center Derek Stepan to a long-term contract.

A close comparable to Stepan is center Ryan O’Reilly, 24, who signed a seven-year, $52.5 million extension with the Sabres with a salary-cap figure of $7.5 million. According to Elliotte Friedman Stepan is seeking a $7.25 million contract, while the Rangers filed for $5.2 million.

The long-term deal essentially splits the difference between the two offered values, likely giving Stepan a slight bump overall for committing for the remainder of his prime. Like with the Braden Holtby case where he was reported to be asking north of $8 million, the player’s ask doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re actually looking for that.

In five seasons, Stepan has played in 362 games, totaling 89 goals, 163 assists, and a +85 +/-.

Stepan has been very consistent for the Rangers over the past five seasons, and that will result in him becoming a fairly highly paid player.

He was a clutch playoff performer particularly this past spring, scoring the OT victor in Game 7 of the second round to eliminate Washington, and is the team’s NHLPA player rep – he’s a major part of everything Alain Vigneault’s team does. Considering the Rangers and new GM Jeff Gorton were operating with minimal cap space prior to the deal, they’re now left with something in the vicinty of $500,000. Stepan, 25, meanwhile, sought proper compensation as an invaluable part of the Rangers’ core. The Rangers are entering arbitration, which is set for Monday, offering a significantly lower $5.2 million per season.