Hotstove: Trading Ryan Callahan?

Welcome to the Hotstove! As always, I'm your host, Travis Yost

New York's always an interesting hotbed for trade rumors during this time of year, but the whispers concerning a potential Ryan Callahan deal strike me as fascinating -- even by Broadway's standards. The Rangers, who have long endeared themselves to Callahan's workmanlike demeanor on the ice, appear to be shopping the winger -- and it likely has to do with his expiring contract.

ESPN's Katie Strang noted the contract situation regarding Callahan in her piece today:

Contract discussions between Sather and Callahan's camp up to this point can best be described as intermittent -- sometimes with lengthy gaps between talks -- though the expectation is that the two sides will touch base again before the Olympic break.

Callahan, who is playing out the last of a three-year deal that pays him $4.275 million annually, is seeking a long-term commitment reportedly worth upward of $6 million per year. There is little doubt he could command that on the open market should he choose to test free agency. But with the Rangers' cap constraints and other UFAs to lock up (right-handed defensemen Dan Girardi and Anton Stralman, for example), Callahan may be the gut-wrenching decision that Sather is forced to make.

ESPN's Pierre LeBrun was the first to float potential trade rumors regarding the veteran New York Ranger, noting that the team was probably shopping him to some extent due to a stall in contractual negotiations:

All of which led to some rumblings that the Rangers are exploring the trade market in case talks don’t produce a contract extension before the March 5 trade deadline. My colleague Darren Dreger also reported on Callahan’s trade possibility during our Insider Trading segment Tuesday evening on TSN in Canada.

You can imagine the reaction when Rangers GM Glen Sather called some teams over the past week to inform them that Callahan might be available.

"That’s a pretty big name," one Western Conference source said.

Darren Dreger's report of the St. Louis Blues "gathering intel" on Callahan was the first official link between a suitor and the player, and will likely fan the flames of this particular trade rumor through the Olympic break:

HockeyBuzz's Jan Levine visited the Stewart/Callahan swap, offering this up (click through for full story):

We have spoken about the need for the Rangers to get bigger, which Stewart would provide, but after a breakout 2009-10 campaign, he has regressed and been a healthy scratch at times over the past few seasons. While I like Stewart a lot, his potential has outweighed his production by a wide margin, so I wouldn't overpay for him. If they would trade Ryan Callahan for him straight up, you might have to bring me back off the ledge as that would be one of the stupidest deals they could make. Stewart is great when motivated, but he hasn't been for a while and there would have to be a lot more, even though Callahan is an RFA after the year, coming back to make that deal palatable to me.

Jan had additional thoughts on the trade talks earlier in the week.

There's a part of me that thinks the New York Rangers would be insane to trade such a face-of-the-franchise player, and incidentally, the trade rumors feel like a way of showing the player that they have no problem moving him to another city if his contractual expectations remain high.

But, there's another part of me -- the larger part of me, anyway -- that understands why New York's playing hardball here. The Rangers front office has taken a beating over the past few years with their handling, or non-handling, of free agents and trade acquisitions. Rightfully so. But, I can't look at a player of Ryan Callahan's stature and prior sample size and rationalize he's worth anything near $6MM+ annually.

My biggest objection is something I outlined in a discussion a couple of days ago. Looking at the 197 forwards with 4000+ minutes logged at even-strength from 2007-2013, Ryan Callahan ranks just 163rd in points/60 at 1.44, behind scoring luminaries like Chris Kelly and Marcel Goc.

Even noting that Ryan Callahan isn't paid wholly for point-scoring (he's an above-average defender off of the puck and a solid penalty killer), it seems insane to allocate that sort of money for a fringe top-six forward with intangible abilities away from even-strength hockey. The number of players you can find to occasionally score and effectively kill penalties are numerous, and the vast majority of them won't cost in excess of $6MM annually.

And, I note that if you want to look into something with more predictive value, Callahan's possession numbers over that same timespan are basically at breakeven. His team's generated about 50% of the shot-attempts with him logging shifts at even-strength; a decent number, but I think the impact is very questionable.

The New York Rangers are in a tough spot here, especially with the way Callahan's built a relationship in the city and with the fans. There are going to be a lot of upset bodies if Callahan's shipped out. But, if the team truly thinks it will not be able to strike an extension with Callahan, would it not be crazy to consider trading him before the deadline?

As crazy as some of the things New York's done over the years, it's fairly easy to defend them with respect to placing Ryan Callahan on the trading block, assuming LeBrun and Dreger (and, Strang) are accurate.

Now, the questions. One: Should the New York Rangers really consider trading Ryan Callahan? If so, what team should be looking to acquire the winger in the coming weeks, and at what cost?

Thanks for reading!