The Tampa Bay Lightning announced this morning that forward Ryan Callahan has agreed to a six-year contract with the club.
This new contract, which keeps Callahan with the Bolts through the 2019-20 season, carries a cap hit of $5.8-million per season. According to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun, the actual breakdown of the deal is as follows:
Callahan breakdown: $6 M/ $6.4 M/ $6.5 M/ $6.5 M/ $4.7 M/ $4.7 M. For an AAV of $5.8 M per
— Pierre LeBrun (@Real_ESPNLeBrun) June 25, 2014After what appeared to be a good few days of negotiations, both General Manager Steve Yzerman and Callahan expressed sincere excitement in the team’s releaseabout being able to get a deal done.
"We are pleased to announce that we've reached an agreement on a six-year contract extension with Ryan,… Yzerman said. “He's proven to be a fierce competitor and outstanding leader who fits very well with our team." “I couldn’t be happier to be part of the Tampa Bay Lightning organization for the next six years and I am excited for this new chapter of my career,… Callahan said. “Tampa Bay has been a great place to live and play from the day I got there. As soon as the season ended I knew it was a place I wanted to be.…
This signing also signifies the end of the Marty St. Louis trade. As a result of Callahan inking an extension with the Bolts, Tampa will send a 2015 second round pick to the Rangers and receive a 2015 seventh round pick in return. Lightning fans are now free to close the book on the former captain completely.
While some will undoubtedly say that the term of the deal is too long, or that the value of the deal is too high, it’s just important to recall that that’s the nature of the beast when it comes to free agency. Few contracts signed at this time of year are steals, as it’s a seller's market out there. What matters, though, is that Steve Yzerman and Jon Cooper locked up the player they wanted to a deal that should be manageable for the foreseeable future; it’s hard not to be happy.
As I noted in my previous Callahan blog, which followed up on Eklund’s report that the two sides were closing in on a deal, the fancy stats (which really aren’t all that fancy) and his age tell me to be wary of this contract; however, the fan in me just can’t help but be excited. Like Coach Cooper, I wanted to see Callahan back on the Lightning bench in 2014-15 and beyond.
One final note: Tampa also announced this morning that it has used its second compliance buyout on forward Ryan Malone. Malone, who had one year left on a deal with a $4.5-million cap hit, was just not providing enough to warrant that kind of salary. The case for a buyout was made even stronger when he was arrested for driving under the influence and cocaine possession earlier this year. I wish Malone all the best as he moves forward with his career.
Let me know what you think of the Callahan deal in the comments section, and take a moment to answer the poll question below.
As always, thanks for reading.
Michael Stuart has been the Tampa Bay Lightning writer for HockeyBuzz since 2012. Visit his archive to read more or follow him on Twitter.