Missing D-Step: On the first of day of camp, Derek Stepan remains unsigned.

They were back at it today. Rangers training camp officially opened at the practice facility in Greenburg. All the familiar faces showed up except one. Center Derek Stepan remains unsigned. A restricted free agent, the 23-year old former Wisconsin product is still seeking a new contract. He is coming off his best year pacing the club with 44 points and a plus-25 rating.

In many aspects, the former ’08 second round pick is proof that former coach John Tortorella succeeded in development. There is also Ryan McDonagh, who general manager Glen Sather prioritized. He rewarded the team’s best defenseman with a six year $28.2 million deal that pays him an average cap hit of $4.7 million. With the Rangers team president focusing on supplying new coach Alain Vigneault with more depth by adding the likes of Dominic Moore, Benoit Pouliot, Justin Falk and Aaron Johnson, it left little wiggle space for Stepan. Combined with the re-signings of Carl Hagelin and Mats Zucarello, Stepan was going to be a problem.

Here we are on September 11 and the two sides are no closer to reaching agreement. Stepan is holding out for a longer deal that would pay him more. Sather can only offer a bridge deal in the neighborhood of $2.3 million. Fair or unfair, Stepan has no leverage. Even if I think Slats is jerking him around, the only solution is for Stepan to take less. He can then earn a richer contract if he backs up last season’s performance. He took the next step becoming the team’s number one pivot. Without him, the Rangers can’t be taken seriously. Brad Richards and Derick Brassard are the only two proven commodities.  Having Stepan in camp benefits everyone. It allows the team to boast a strong 1-3 down the middle. Considering the lack of established scorers, they need that center strength.

Only Rick Nash is a proven finisher. There are question marks surrounding Hagelin and Ryan Callahan, who each are returning from offseason surgery to repair torn labrums. That puts more emphasis on young pups Chris Kreider and Danny Kristo to excel. Ranger brass will also be looking in closely at Oscar Lindberg, who impressed at Traverse City. If deemed ready, he could allow Sather to get rid of spare parts. Likely candidates are Darroll Powe, Arron Asham and Taylor Pyatt.

That would free up more room for Stepan. Regardless, something will happen the way it did in Toronto with Nazem Kadri. He wound up signing for two years, $5.8 million. Stepan is more proven than Kadri but it doesn’t matter. The Rangers can ill afford this to linger. Neither can Stepan. It’s too important a year. Especially with a new coach in place looking to implement a different system. Until this issue is resolved, it will continue to cast a shadow on 2013-14.

Once it’s settled, Sather then must turn his attention to Henrik Lundqvist. A potential monster headache. Like it or not, Lundqvist could command a max deal for Crosby money. It’s put up or shut up for everyone.