Rangers GM Glen Sather heavily criticized restricted free agent Derek Stepan's agent as Stepan continues to holdout. "l don't think Derek is going to let this linger that long, I don't think he's a big enough fool to figure that, 'I'm going to sit out for the year and it's going to do my career any good,'" Sather said. That's part of a much larger statement on the issue and the fact that Sather feels the need to take his case to the public, probably isn't a good sign. The Rangers seem to be unwilling to concede to Stepan's reported demands on a two-year/$3.5 million contract, although it's believed they would agree to $3 million annually. That's not a large gap for a player that led the Rangers in scoring, so we still wouldn't rule out the possibility that one side caves before the start of the regular season.