Ryan Callahan isn't going anywhere after all.
Ryan Callahan signs 6-year, $34.8 million contract extension
Ryan Callahan is staying in Tampa Bay after signing a six-year contract extension with the team on Wednesday.
Mike Carlson
The Tampa Bay Lightning announced on Wednesday morning that they have signed the 29-year-old winger to a six-year contract extension. Terms of the deal were not released by the team, but according to ESPN's Pierre LeBrun the contract will be worth $5.8 million per year.
“I couldn’t be happier to be part of the Tampa Bay Lightning organization for the next six years and I am excited for this new chapter of my career,” Callahan said in a team statement. “Tampa Bay has been a great place to live and play from the day I got there. As soon as the season ended I knew it was a place I wanted to be.”
The Lightning acquired Callahan from the Rangers at the NHL trade deadline in exchange for Martin St. Louis after New York failed to work out a new contract with Callahan. As part of that trade, the Rangers will get an additional second-round pick since Callahan re-signed with the Lightning.
It's a huge investment for winger closing in on 30 that probably isn't going to score a lot. The Lightning went this route a few years ago with Ryan Malone, a contract they are in the process of buying out just as they re-sign Callahan.
Callahan is a very good defensive player and penalty killer, but outside of a couple of seasons in his mid-20s he has never really been a big producer offensively and usually is at 45-50 point pace over 82 games. Those numbers have also been trending downward over the past couple of seasons.
He scored six goals to go with five assists in 20 games with the Lightning this season after the trade.
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