Today is the last day for Derek Stepan to file for salary arbitration. And according to Larry Brooks, the New York Rangers may run into some serious trouble making a deal with the 25-year-old center.
Why? Brooks says the contract extension that the Buffalo Sabres gave to 24-year-old center, Ryan O’Reilly, could be seen as a benchmark in Stepan’s contract negotiations.
I have to disagree with Brooks.
The Sabres inked O’Reilly to a seven-year contract for $7.5 million per year. The deal does look extravagant, considering his stats are neither the worst, nor the best.