It's remarkable, really, to see just how much the media and fans get annoyed when young, cheap talent stays young but no longer remains cheap. We've been down this road before multiple times and yet no one ever seems to learn and we end up going through the same song and dance over and over again.
The Derek Stepan negotiations haven't even really started yet, and still the panic is at an all time high. Why? Well, the Buffalo Sabres signed newly acquired Ryan O'Reilly to a massive deal worth a $7.5-million cap hit that really doesn't have anything to do with Stepan but don't tell that to the masses using it to generate clicks and/or hot takes.