When news came out that New York Rangers captain Ryan Callahan was asking for a seven-year, $42 million contract extension, it wasn’t hard to understand the team’s motivations for shopping him.
As it turns out, those numbers might not be accurate. Callahan might want even more than that. More specifically, he’s demanding somewhere between $45.5 million and $49 million over seven years, according to TSN.
That would give him a cap hit comparable to Mikko Koivu, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, and each of the Sedin twins.
Meanwhile, the deal that would send Callahan to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Chris Stewart is believed to be still on the table. There’s also still a chance that the Rangers will still re-sign their captain given that they plan to reopen negotiations this week.
The Buffalo Sabres are also interested in paying Callahan, but not the Rangers, reports the New York Post. They aren’t about to deal away prospects for him, but they will be a major bidder for his services if he decides to test the free agent waters.
Ultimately, the suggestion that there are teams out there willing to pay Callahan top dollar might motivate him to stick to his demands, which would not only diminish the Rangers ability to re-sign him, but also hurt any potential return they can get in a trade.