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Ryan Callahan Tribute Thread

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I made a video. My thoughts on the whole thing, because I needed for this to come straight out.



I just realized that you can hear it in my voice :(
 
NYRangers1979 said:
I'm devesated, upset, and angry he is gone, over a NMC, give me a break, I hope and pray he puts up even better numbers in Tampa Bay, especially skating with a guy like Stamkos.

Anyway, it's days like this that don't make me proud to be a NY'er, oh well moving onto the Yankees now.

Thanks Cally for what you did in NY.
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LOL good riddance.
 
eco's bones said:
That group that came of age after the Jagr years--Dubinsky, Callahan, Staal and Girardi breathed a lot of fresh air into our hockey team. We've not had a group like that since then nor do we appear to have one on the way anytime soon. These guys are all warriors. They're not superstars but they play the game the way it's supposed to be played--very hard but not dirty. Three of them have worn a letter for this team--one has been the captain.
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Yup. This is one of those head thinks one thing, heart thinks another kind of situations. Moving Callahan was the right thing to do (it was different with Leetch, who was at the tail end of a HoF career, and earned the right to finish it on his own terms in a NY sweater). You just can't pay first line star money for a 2nd line player, no matter how much heart he provides.

That said, the last remnant of my favorite ever Rangers line is now gone. If you had told me three years ago that Dubi, AA and Callahan would all be playing for different teams, I'd have thought you were nuts.


White Plains Batman said:
It stinks now but Miller and Fast are going to become the new Dubi and Cally for this team. They're already glues at the hip in Hartford.
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This is the thing, though. It's easy to think that. For folks who have only really been around/come of age post lockout (not saying that describes you at all), Ranger prospects have a remarkably good track record of panning out. In the last ten years, we've seen a LOT of high quality, home-grown guys. Stepan, Dubi, AA, Cally, Hagelin, Henrik, Staal, Girardi, MDZ, Sauer, McD, Boyle, Kreider, etc etc. Unfortunately, prospects, by their nature, are far more likely to disappoint than to exceed expectations. How many of us thought we could move important guys because Grachev or Sanguinetti or Immonen, or Brendl, etc etc were on the way?

Eco is absolutely right. Having a big group of higher-end guys all make it within a couple years of each other, AND having them share a team-first attitude on the ice is a rare treat. We will be lucky if we see such a thing again. Hopefully, the star players and depth brought in (Nash, MSL, Klein) will give us something to help forget the loss of those guys.
 
This is how I'm feeling right now



Hope you have the best career ever. My favorite Ranger since Adam Graves. It was tough to see you go, but at the end of the day it is a business.

Oh Captain, my Captain. :``(
 
KreiMeARiver said:
I'm assuming you mean Leetch?
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Yes, SBOB's Avatar has been Leetch in one way or another since the dawn of time.

Mint said:
Most overrated player in NYR history.
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Eh, that's a harsh word to use and I don't know if it's the right one. He's a good player that's been revered by NYR fans like he is a great player. Like when I think of all-time Rangers, I don't think of Ryan Callahan, but some in this thread are throwing that term around. To me, I don't think those Rangers would get offended if you threw Callahan's name next to that term, but to me, all-time Rangers are The 4 Horsemen (Mess, Leetch, Gravey, Richter), Gilbert, Giacomin, Ratelle, Howell, Bathgate, etc. I don't think Callahan is on that level. Some view him that way, but I feel like it's the newer crowd that didn't get to experience the afforementioned players in their primes. I obviously didn't get to see the latter 5, but I saw The 4 Horsemen during their entire careers with the Rangers and they were on another level.

That being said, he was so good early in his career. His performance in 2011 before the Chara slapshot was where I thought he could've emerged as one of the best players in the world.
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Maybe that did take away from him, I don't think we'll ever know. I do think he could have had a 30-30-60 season that year.

Mint said:
And when did he produce this points? Certainly not in the playoffs.
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That was my biggest problem with Callahan. I always thought he was a good leader, but not a great one, as anointed by a lot of Ranger fans. The great leaders produce in the playoffs. He was never an impact player offensively and by that, I don't mean that you have to produce by points and points only in the playoffs, but even his presence was just not felt in the playoffs.

Maybe it was the toll that his body took the regular season, maybe it was fatigue, but every year in the playoffs, aside from one or two small instances, you really didn't hear much from Ryan Callahan on the offensive side of the puck.

Maybe I expected too much from him, growing up with Mark Messier as the Captain. Maybe I'm holding him to Messier's standard, which is basically impossible to sustain in this day and age. However, I do think the difference between being good and great is the ability to take your game to the next level when it matters most and no matter what way you want to slice it, Ryan Callahan has not been capable of doing that.

Machinehead said:
I made a video. My thoughts on the whole thing, because I needed for this to come straight out.



I just realized that you can hear it in my voice :(
Click to expand...


Well done. You look younger and I'm hoping that for your sake (and mine too) that another player can come along and become that "hero" and favorite player for you.

Sadly enough 2 of my top 3 favorite players in the NHL right now aren't even Rangers (Datsyuk, Kopitar).
 
I wouldn't call myself cold, but I'm almost unphased by this. Maybe it's because I knew this was coming? Maybe because I didn't want another Holik/Drury like contract suffocating the team? I don't know exactly why it is, but I'm not sad. I hope for the best for Ryan (not at the Rangers expense) and I'll miss him to an extent, but to me, he didn't get the job done when it counted in the big moments.

Yes, people will point to that game against Carolina, or some other small moment in the regular season which was a part of the playoff push, but where did that magic go in the post-season? I'm sorry, but when you're the captain, you not only have to lead by voice, but by example too and examples don't just count as blocking a shot or making a defensive play. That means scoring big goals as well. Sure, he'll never be Messier, but I wasn't expecting him to be. I was expecting someone who ramps his game up even more in the playoffs. Callahan to me was unable to find that next level here.

I honestly think it was time for a change, but thank you Ryan for the work you did here. As for whoever mentioned the changing of the guard and the death of the "country club" mentality, that ended after the 05 lockout ended. I truly believe that some on here weren't watching when the real country club vibe was spread throughout the organization.
 
eco's bones said:
The team lost. Richards was a -2. How dominant is that?
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That line was our best line by far. They had TONS of chances and just didn't finish. They were noticeable when they were on the ice. None of our other lines were.

Dominant might have been too strong of a word, but they were definitely good together.
 
CM Lundqvist said:
That line was our best line by far. They had TONS of chances and just didn't finish. They were noticeable when they were on the ice. None of our other lines were.

Dominant might have been too strong of a word, but they were definitely good together.
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That line looked like they have been playing all year.Instant chemistry.Once they start burying some of those chances,look out!
 
CM Lundqvist said:
That line was our best line by far. They had TONS of chances and just didn't finish. They were noticeable when they were on the ice. None of our other lines were.

Dominant might have been too strong of a word, but they were definitely good together.
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FWIW I'm not crying over this trade. I've been following the Rangers since the early 70's. I've seen a lot of trades. It wasn't so much a 'business' then as it is now and the reason the Rangers moved Callahan was mostly about business. It's life. Part of the game within the game for rabid hockey fans these days is chance to play player agent and general manager and all the pissing around with cap figures you want--more or less a distraction from what's actually going on on the ice.

The reason I smarted off to one particular poster was his disrespectful take on a player who has by sheer hard work made the most of his ability. Callahan was never a particularly skillful player IMO--he was good at most everything but definitely never 1st line material. Why there is such disdain for the blue collar style of play of hitting and blocking shots--forechecking hard and going to the net I don't know.

It's fair to say that Callahan's playoff numbers aren't so hot. Which Rangers in the past several years have put up good playoff numbers for our team? Gaborik? Nash? Stepan? Richards? Apart from Brassard last year--none of our 'skilled' guys have done much to be proud of. Richards in 11-12 put up 15 its in 20 games. Last year he was so bad though he was replaced by Kris Newbury. That was disgraceful. For the past few years however long the Rangers stuck around in the playoffs has depended more on the goaltending, the defense, the gritty guys, the penalty killers because the skill guys for the most part have been almost nowhere to be found.

As for last night the Richards line was not dominant. To break down the players. St. Louis had played the night before-flew back to Tampa-hung around until the deal was made-flew to New York--no practice with his teammates--did well under the circumstances. He flubbed the puck a few times--he and his line mates passed up shots trying so hard to set each other up. Richards looked about the same player as he has all year--basically a 2nd line center with not particularly good wheels. Hagelin was bypassing shots and forcing plays. Hagelin is pretty much in Callahan territory as a player--he's just cheaper, faster and less gritty. More than less having a disappointing season numbers wise and a 2nd-3rd line tweener.
 
eco's bones said:
As for last night the Richards line was not dominant. To break down the players. St. Louis had played the night before-flew back to Tampa-hung around until the deal was made-flew to New York--no practice with his teammates--did well under the circumstances. He flubbed the puck a few times--he and his line mates passed up shots trying so hard to set each other up. Richards looked about the same player as he has all year--basically a 2nd line center with not particularly good wheels. Hagelin was bypassing shots and forcing plays. Hagelin is pretty much in Callahan territory as a player--he's just cheaper, faster and less gritty. More than less having a disappointing season numbers wise and a 2nd-3rd line tweener.
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Idk I thought Richards had a noticeable jump in his step. Him and MSL set each other up for a few nice chances in the 1st. Richards hit a post. I thought he looked noticeably better last night than he has in a while.
 
eco's bones said:
FWIW I'm not crying over this trade. I've been following the Rangers since the early 70's. I've seen a lot of trades. It wasn't so much a 'business' then as it is now and the reason the Rangers moved Callahan was mostly about business. It's life. Part of the game within the game for rabid hockey fans these days is chance to play player agent and general manager and all the pissing around with cap figures you want--more or less a distraction from what's actually going on on the ice.

The reason I smarted off to one particular poster was his disrespectful take on a player who has by sheer hard work made the most of his ability. Callahan was never a particularly skillful player IMO--he was good at most everything but definitely never 1st line material. Why there is such disdain for the blue collar style of play of hitting and blocking shots--forechecking hard and going to the net I don't know.
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No offense, but this is a Callahan appreciation thread, not a lets criticize him and say why he was traded thread , we have about 20 of those. To compare him to St. Louis is unfair since they are two different players. Callahan is a 2nd line, shut down forward who can also score goals and create offense, one of the best in the league on the PK, and he is going to help any team win games.

Anyway, anyone watching the game tonight? meet ya over on the Tampa forum if you want to chat.

Sadly, I cannot give the same loyalty to the Rangers like you, I've only been a fan for like 5 or 6 years. I've followed multiple hockey teams before, and will continue to do so.
 
Glen Sathers Cigar said:
Idk I thought Richards had a noticeable jump in his step. Him and MSL set each other up for a few nice chances in the 1st. Richards hit a post. I thought he looked noticeably better last night than he has in a while.
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I was at the game and agree. Having St Louis and Hags on the wings causes him to get on his horse to keep up.
 
I'm sa he's gone, I loved the guy! I'm wearing his jersey now watching the TB game. I have to say though now that I'm not looking at him as a guy who "can't do anything wrong" I feel like we made out in this deal. He looks lost out there I know it may be because he's not used to the team but he doesn't look like the Callahan I loved, like it said it could be that he's off because he's not used to the team or it could be how he really plays and I'm not looking at him as the super hero that could do nothing wrong. But either way I love ya Cally! 'Til we meet again!
 
Finally got around to watching the Castiglia video, and others, because I knew it was gonna suck. I spent all day yesterday focusing on MSL and being excited for him.

I made it about 45 seconds into the video before the first tear formed. Others have said it best in this thread, but my hardcore Ranger fandom essentially began with him breaking into the league and some of my best/worst sports moments were brought about by him and the team he led.

I hope to somehow see him back in a Ranger uniform one more time before he retires. Will most definitely still rock that Cally alternate jersey. Thanks Captain!
 
Seeing him in that TB uniform is one of the strangest things I've ever seen. Just seems so wrong.

I really wish he had a different agent that steered him in a pragmatic direction.

What a shame.
 
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