There was just one thing worse than the Super Bowl commercials and the actual game itself today; the realization I was out of beer and would have to suffer through the balance of the Super Bowl sans my favorite adult beverage. That was one of the worst Super Bowl games in recent memory and the commercials seem to get worse every year. Only one of the ads even brought a chuckle: Well, actually two but the other one was simply due to how idiotic the question, "What's more American than America," or however that read. Anyway, enough on the NFL; this is a hockey blog so let's get to it.
Many around the league were surprised to hear that New York Rangers GM Glen Sather was seriously considering trading Ryan Callahan if he was unable to secure the team's Captain to a long term contract extension. Evidently Sather has given permission to multiple teams to reach out to Callahan's agent, Stephen Bartlett, to gauge what it would take to extend the player. Pierre LeBrun initially suggested Columbus was a team that had interest in Callahan and Aaron Portzline has since tweeted his opinion.
Don't know all of his "targets," but #NYR Ryan Callahan makes sense. Leadership, work ethic, hockey intellect...things current #CBJ covet.
Earlier Portzline tweeted that Columbus GM Jarmo Kekalainen was one of the most active in trying to upgrade his team's roster for a playoff push. Might the Jackets and Rangers get together on the third blockbuster trade they've completed in the last 19 months? Only time will tell but it's an interesting thought.
The Rangers are apparently willing to move Callahan due to his contractual demands. Reports vary on the AAV but agree he is looking for seven years at minimum AAV of $6MM. Sather is so far unwilling to exceed five seasons on his offer though he is reportedly amenable to the AAV.
There are two questions regarding a Callahan trade as it relates to the Jackets side of things: First, what would the Rangers want in return and second, would the Jackets be able to extend Callahan should they manage to acquire him or would he be strictly a rental?
On the first front we can guess based on another rumor reported by Darren Dreger suggesting the Rangers were gathering information on St. Louis winger Chris Stewart. Stewart has been inconsistent this season but in the right system is a safe bet for 20 - 25 goals while adding size and toughness to the lineup.
If we start there, two players come to mind immediately: Brandon Dubinsky and RJ Umberger. Dubinsky, according to earlier rumors, was a target to be moved by Columbus in order to clear his $4.25MM salary off next year's books. Perhaps a Dubinsky reunion in New York makes sense as he brings some of the same skills Stewart does (size, grit and some scoring ability).
Umberger, with three more seasons at an annual cap charge of $4.6MM, could also appeal to some degree to the Rangers. He already has five, 20-goal campaigns under his belt and is on pace for a sixth though at 31 might be too "mature" to be of serious interest to the Blueshirts.
Since Columbus only has a projected $1.12MM in available trade deadline cap space moving either Dubinsky or Umberger would leave open the possibility of adding Callahan and his $4.275MM cap hit while remaining compliant.
Larry Brooks of the New York Post, writing about the interest in Callahan, suggested Cam Atkinson as a player the Rangers could be interested in but that was his supposition only and not anything he had heard from sources. Personally, with the 5-7 Mats Zuccarello already playing a key role for the Rangers, I'm not sure if they (the Rangers) would want to bring aboard another diminutive winger like Atkinson.
I can see the interest in a guy like Callahan and agree with Portzline that he brings to the table certain skills that the Jackets appreciate. However I don't think they will want to go down the rental route unless the price is right and I have a feeling the Rangers are going to want value if and when they trade Callahan. The Jackets are getting closer but they are a team of tomorrow and not today. Unless they can extend Callahan, and that is going to be expensive, I'm not sure they will want to pay up to make a trade for him.
Again, the primary motivation in their rumored desire to deal Dubinsky was to save on money. Going in they know they will need to commit $6MM if they hope to extend Callahan assuming a deal is made to acquire him. Unless the idea of moving Dubi was about clearing money from the books with the intent of going to get a guy like Callahan at this year's deadline, it's hard to believe the Jackets are able to do this. But Kekalainen surprised us last year when he acquired Gaborik and maybe the injured Slovakian sniper has a yet undetermined part in all of this drama. Hmm, that sounds like a blog for another day.