Rangers Win Despite Callahan Trade Talk
After the exhilaration of two victories at Yankee Stadium, it was back to everyday reality for Rangers fans Friday, and that reality was filled with foreboding. As they sat in Madison Square Garden and watched the Rangers beat the Islanders, 4-1, the fans knew they might be watching Ryan Callahan's last game in a Rangers uniform.
All evening, Rangers fans on social media voiced their anxiety at the thought of saying farewell to one of their favorite players, who might be traded for salary reasons.
Callahan, 28, drafted by the Rangers in 2004 and the team captain since September 2011, is a decent scorer and a fixture on the second line. But for seven and a half seasons he has been an inspirational on-ice presence, sacrificing his body as one of the N.H.L.'s premier shot-blocking and body-checking forwards, and the personification of the Rangers' hard-working, scrappy approach.
His play earned him a trip to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics with Team USA, and he is set to be in the Americans' lineup again at Sochi. But his contract with the Rangers is up at the end of the season. His agent, Steve Bartlett, is believed to be asking for a seven-year deal for $42 million - apparently too much for the Rangers under the salary cap.
Talks have been going on all season between Bartlett and Rangers General Manager Glen Sather, but they have not produced an agreement, and Sather would want to get something in return for Callahan rather than see him walk away as a free agent in July.
Sather is not shy about making big moves - see the firing of John Tortorella, or the trade to Columbus of Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, Tim Erixon and a No. 1 draft choice for Rick Nash. On Friday, it looked as if another big move was imminent.
The trade rumors mounted through the day. Just before the game, reports circulated that the Rangers had given multiple teams permission to talk with Bartlett.
Bartlett did not return messages asking for comment.
The most frequently reported rumor was a deal that would send Callahan to St. Louis in exchange for Chris Stewart, another right wing, who scores about as much as Callahan does but does not have the same reputation for checking prowess or leadership.
Another rumor had Callahan going to the Columbus Blue Jackets. That was buttressed by the presence of John Davidson, the Blue Jackets' president, who was at the game to help the Rangers salute Sam Rosen for his 30 years as the team's television play-by-play man.
Davidson was Rosen's partner in the booth for 20 of those years, but his current job fueled trade talk.
Other teams had a presence Friday. Scouts from Detroit, Tampa Bay, Montreal and San Jose were on the press-row seating chart. Two Rangers scouts were at the Boston-Montreal game Thursday night.
The Rangers have no games scheduled until Tuesday, plenty of time for a deal to be made and a new player to become acclimated - or for talks with Callahan to conclude successfully. But either way, the rumor mill was turning too loudly not to become a distraction.
The N.H.L.'s pre-Olympic roster freeze goes into effect on Feb. 7, and the Rangers are believed to want a resolution by then.
The Rangers were the designated visitors for their two outdoor games in the Bronx to preserve the Madison Square Garden Company's tax exemption, which stipulates that the Garden must be their only home rink. Unlike the Yankee Stadium ice, which was choppy for the Rangers' 7-3 win over the Devils on Sunday afternoon and their 2-1 victory over the Islanders on Wednesday night, the Garden ice was smooth.
Brian Boyle gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead 3 minutes and 29 seconds after the opening face-off, tipping Marc Staal's shot past Islanders goalie Evgeni Nabokov.
The Islanders tied the score in the second, when Kyle Okposo scored amid a protracted goal-mouth scramble.
Derrick Brassard scored the go-ahead goal off a setup from Staal at 12:14 in the third. Brad Richards helped assure the victory with a goal at 14:59, after being put in the clear by a pass from Callahan.
Ryan McDonagh added an empty netter with a second left. Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist finished with 38 saves.
It was the Rangers' second straight victory over the Islanders, and it gave them the season series, 3-2. They are 9-3 in their last 12 games and are in second place in the Metropolitan Division, 4 points ahead of Carolina.
The Rangers are hot, and improving as the season nears its home stretch. Yet they may trade their captain, Ryan Callahan.
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