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After an initial snub from last year’s Canadian Olympic team by Tampa Bay Lightning/Team Canada general manager Steve Yzerman left a bitter taste in the mouth of Martin St. Louis, the longtime Bolts forward did the unthinkable and demanded a trade out of Tampa. St. Louis wanted to go to the New York Rangers, and only the Broadway Blueshirts made Yzerman’s job less than ideal. Despite this challenge, Yzerman was able to land then Rangers captain Ryan Callahan — a pending free agent — and a collection of draft picks in exchange for the disgruntled winger. Callahan eventually signed a long-term extension with Tampa, and over a year later the two teams are facing off with a spot in the Stanley Cup Final at stake.
Despite St. Louis having the more accomplished resume and being a factor in the Rangers making last year’s Stanley Cup Final, this season it looks like the Lightning have gotten the better of the deal. The 39-year-old St. Louis has begun to show signs of losing the battle to father time and has been held to a mere four points in the playoffs. Having said that, if anything can get St. Louis going again, the notion of beating his former team to return to the Stanley Cup Final and win his second Stanley Cup is just the circumstance.
Callahan, on the other hand, has had a career year and settled into a really favorable niche with the Lightning, being just as comfortable riding shotgun with superstar Steven Stamkos as he is grinding on the third line. While Callahan’s output offensively in the postseason hasn’t been much better than St. Louis, his ability to contribute in all facets of the game have made him one of the Bolts’ most valuable forwards.
Callahan missed Game 6 against the Montreal Canadiens with an emergency appendectomy, but he’s set to return for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday — a mere five days after the procedure. Callahan making a return to Madison Square Garden for a big game mere days after a major injury is stuff sports legends are made of. In fact, had this been during his tenure with the Rangers, it’d be one of the most triumphant returns from injury at the World’s Most Famous Arena since the New York Knicks‘ Willis Reed in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals.
While there are a number of great players between the two teams, with Stamkos and Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist being two of the most recognizable faces in the game, the Callahan/St. Louis dynamic will be at the forefront. One thing is for sure: Either St. Louis or Callahan will end the series second-guessing if they should’ve stayed put, while the other goes on to play for the Stanley Cup.
