I’m sure the Lightning would be interested in working something out with Buffalo to clear Callahan’s cap hit. The thing is we don’t need to move him until next season, if at all, so we wouldn’t be willing to pay through the nose to get rid of him. But some Sabres fans have expressed interest in the idea of bringing him in to change the culture and to be an example to their young players, so perhaps he might not be considered a huge negative despite his contract.
So what would Sabres fans think of Callahan + Dotchin for future considerations? You’d get a leader and former captain in your locker room who can show your young players what 100% effort looks like, along with a young defenseman who had a solid first season before regressing in his second (to be fair we were playing him on the top pairing in order to allow Stralman to carry the load on the second, which was really throwing the kid in over his head before he’d learned to float. We’re not in a position to optimize prospect development at this point but a change of scene and the opportunity to develop on the third pairing where he belongs would do him a lot of good.)