Source: New York Rangers Taking Calls on Ryan Callahan

The Olympic trade freeze doesn’t go into effect until February 7, and up until the very moment the clock strikes midnight, General Managers across the league will be making and fielding trade calls to try and improve their respective teams. One of those teams currently taking a lot of phone calls is the New York Rangers and GM Glen Sather.

According to a source close to the situation, Ryan Callahan, the U.S.A Olympian and the captain of the Rangers could be calling a new city home for the remainder of the season. The reason? The team doesn’t feel he will be worth the salary — currently making $4.825-million with a cap hit of $4.275-million — he will likely demand as an unrestricted free agent over the summer, and Sather is hopeful that he will be able to get a decent return if he can trade him before the March 5 trade deadline.

The source made it clear that this by no means means that the Rangers are actively shopping their captain, but they have made other GMs aware that he could be available for the right offer. What that right offer is exactly only Sather knows. If he can’t get the offer he wants, Sather will still make a pre-draft contract offer to his captain before attempting to deal is rights in Philadelphia come June.

More to come….

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Michael Straw is a freelance sports journalist based in Buffalo, NY who has covered the Buffalo Sabres for four years. His work has been featured on WGR-550AM-Buffalo and Yahoo’s Puck Daddy blog. You can follow Michael for the latest NHL news and rumors on Twitter @TheMikeStraw