The NY Rangers have been mentioned in rumors involving captain Ryan Callahan and now a deal has gone through with the Tampa Bay Lightning for Martin St. Louis and that happened ahead of the deadline, which finishes up at 3 pm ET on Wednesday and a deal happened without a new contract extension for the New York star.
Callahan has been mentioned in numerous trade rumors over the past month leading into the Olympics, as he is set to be a free agent and wants a long term extension with the team. Glen Sather has been working to get an extension done and the two sides have been apart on numbers, with Callahan originally asking for seven years and about $6.5 million per season, while the Rangers wanted five or six at about $6 million per season. According to ESPN.com, Callahan is more willing to go to six years, but he is holding fast on that salary number.
The Rangers have a fine line to walk, as they would like to keep their captain, but at the right price and now Sather has to weight whether to trade him now or risk losing him for nothing. This season Callahan has 11 goals and 14 assists and after signing Dan Girardi and Henrik Lundqvist to deals, the team has to be smart here, as they already have Brad Richards and Rick Nash on contracts as well. The Rangers and Lightning could swap captains, as St. Louis said that he would be willing to accept a deal to the Rangers.
Callahan has never been the prolific scorer like Sidney Crosby, but he is the heart and soul of the team has the captain and the Rangers are hoping he can back to a couple years ago when he played in 76 games and had 29 goals and 54 points on the season, the best of his career. Heading into the deadline, Callahan said that he would accept a six year deal, but he has stood firm on the money and that is where the point of contention is now for the team as the two sides look to get a deal done.
The 28 year old is an important part of the team and he is the last piece the team needs to work on after locking up Girardi, who had also been mentioned as a potential trade option. Tampa Bay Lightning captain Martin St. Louis and Canucks center Ryan Kesler could be options for the Rangers, as both have expressed interest in getting traded as well.
According to CBS Sports, St. Louis has said that he has requested a trade from the team and that the Rangers could be an option, as he has a home in the offseason in Connecticut and he said he would accept a deal to the team. There is no deal imminent yet, but if the two sides cannot come to an agreement by the deadline, Callahan could be gone.
St. Louis is tops on the team with 25 goals, 31 assists and 56 points and he is the type of scorer the Rangers would love, but he is older than Callahan and this would be a tough trade on the Rangers side. The team wants to keep Callahan, it just doesn't know if it will be able to. The deadline is 3 pm.