This is a joke. Ryan Callahan is a 2nd line player at best. Loui Eriksson is a 1st line talent who is better defensively and miles ahead offensively.
I love Loui Eriksson, he's one of my favorite players in the league. I know exactly what he is.
Regardless, you don't trade players who are phenomenal players away from the puck and no slouch away from the puck. You don't trade the homegrown, drafted and developed heart of your franchise, a player who happens to be an elite defensive player, one of the hardest working players in the league, and a guy who plays like winning is one of the most important things in the world to him.
The word intangibles is tossed around a lot, and usually without merit. In this case, it actually applies. That's despite the fact that his best attributes ARE tangible.
And to answer your question, I raise you one Mike Fisher in 2011 just off the top of my head.
Fisher was a free agent-to-be who was not a sure bet to stay, Ottawa was spiraling miserably toward the bottom of the standings, and Nashville was interested, which was a perfect situation for him personally.
Nothing like that is happening with the this team. The Rangers are settling into the familiar territory of mediocrity as a result of under performing star players eating away at their salary cap, not rock bottoming in the lottery.
I can safely conclude that Ryan Callahan is one of the most overrated players in Rangers history with comments like these.
I can safely conclude that Ryan Callahan will go down as one of the best players, not to mention captains, in Rangers history. He'll spend the majority of his healthy career as one of the top 10 two-way forwards in the NHL.
I've seen this mentioned a couple of times and it was taken way out of context. I said Callahan has the skillset of a 3rd line grinder. Not that he is a 3rd line grinder. Brendan Morrow, Jarret Stoll, Ryan Smyth and Shawn Horcoff all have the skillset of 3rd line grinders and they've put up around 70 pts in their peak years.
You're comparing Morrow, Smyth, and Callahan to Stoll and Horcoff?. Try Bergeron, Kesler, Jordan Staal, Mike Richards, Fisher, Sharp, and even Eriksson etc.
Callahan belongs in that group, even if he is one of the least skilled offensive players among them. He's that good away from the puck. Besides, the Rangers have never been a very good offensive team. If the team played up to the potential of their big names, #24 would be a 60-65 point player. He would be doing what Drury did in Buffalo: racking up points on the Power Play because he's smart enough and has enough drive to take advantage of playing with great offensive players.
shudder).
