I should say, though, that it doesn't mean he'll be terrible in Carolina. In fact, he may end up being pretty good.
This is an extremely detail-oriented player on the ice. He's positionally perfect defensively and just does not make mistakes. He's small, slow, and weak but always has his body and stick in the right position defensively. He does not have to rely on skating or strength at all, which is good because he has neither. He will likely be a head coach at some level some day. He sees the game so well and has such solid fundamentals on the ice. He's had to because he has so little actual talent, relative to other players with similar resumes.
Having said all of that, most Coyotes fans I know that actually follow the team closely could not wait to be rid of him. I think he's a fine player on a good team with an established leadership group and effective coaching. Carolina is a good spot for him, in this regard. The Coyotes, however, had a crisis of accountability. There was none. They had a country club head coach who just wanted to let all of his beer buddies off the hook.
The Kessels, and Stepans, Demers, and Goligoskis. Stepan was on Spittin' Chiclets talking about drinking a six pack of Bud Lights every night, even during the season. Alex Goligoski, who's play NOSE DIVED after they acquired Stepan and then SKY ROCKETED after Stepan was shipped out, talked on Spittin' Chiclets about how Stepan helped him stop taking things so seriously and how to just relax and have fun.
The veterans the Coyotes had in their "leadership" group were all class-clown, goofball, former party boys. They very obviously could not care less and it was an absolute Country Club environment. Derek Stepan was the worst offender.