but they are not comparable players, at all. If you're going to use Clowe's contract as a base for Stepan's, why not just use Clarkson's? or Horton's? they're as (un)comparable players to Stepan as Clowe is but have bigger contracts.
how many years is RFA? Its the only time the rangers can be tight unless another team offers a contract which doesnt appear to ever happen anymore....was Joe Sakic the last one?
Sakic is the last one i remember. I just read up on it a bit and it was 7/$21 with $15M upfront in bonus back in '97. Would have had to give up 5 1st rd picks. Sakic was 28 at the time. Man, that would have been sweet. And i don't see Stepan as someone a team would extend an expensive, long term offer sheet. He's not the type of player who's going to be one of the best at his position the way McD can easily become. Stepan is not at the level of Crosby, Stamkos, Giroux, E. Staal, Toews, Tavares, Malkin, Eberle, Kopitar as the best young centers in the league, so he's a risk for a team to overpay.
Stepan will get done. Bottom line is to compare UFA contracts to RFA contarcts is simply not apples to apples. UFA's pretty much always get overpaid. Just the way sports are.
