TSN’s McKenzie All But Kills A Callahan For St. Louis Swap

TSN’s Bob McKenzie all but threw a bucket of water on Boomer Esiason’s fire. In a recent article on TSN, McKenzie feels no trade is imminent. 

That is not to say neither player wouldn’t be traded but a swap for those two doesn’t add up. Which is what FTR has been saying all along.

OLD NEWS

When Marty St. Louis was snubbed by Steve Yzerman and Team Canada, everybody in the hockey world knew he was upset. That was early January, the same time Slats was making phone calls to see about interest in Ryan Callahan.

It is believed that St. Louis wanted to be moved. Holding a no movement clause gave him the leverage to pick where and the only place he was willing to go was the NYR. If that is true, why would Slats give them Ryan Callahan when technically he hold all the power? Why not move Callahan elsewhere then? Yet, St. Louis is unhappy and looking to be moved and Sather should at least try and acquire.

Fast forward to today and Marty St. Louis has an Olympic Gold medal around his neck. I’m sure he isn’t as upset anymore. Not to mention that he is on a good team and is the captain. The Lightning should only be better now that Stamkos is getting healthy again and set to return in March.

IT DOESN’T ADD UP

McKenzie and Damian Cristodero of the Tampa Bay Times report that if Yzerman were to trade St. Louis, his m.o. is to obtain a player with picks and/or prospects. On the flip side, Sather hates giving those up.

Boomer Esiason has good information, it just may be outdated like the milk in a single guy’s fridge! Trading either captain is a public relations nightmare. If they do move them, Stevie Y and Slats needs to come out winners big-time. For all these reasons (and being in the same conference), this deal is probably dead.

THE TRADE DEADLINE

FTR holds firm that Ryan Callahan will be traded unless a deal is reached or agreed to in principle by March 5th at 3pm. The same holds true for Dan Girardi. What is also interesting for the Rangers are both Brian Boyle and Anton Stralman are UFA’s. What will Slats do there?

Of the 4 players mentioned, Ryan Callahan and Anton Stralman are the most likely to be moved. If Callahan does not budge from his current contract demands, he is gone. The Rangers learned a painful lesson when Mark Messier walked away to Vancouver in the summer of 1997 for nothing.

Stralman has played well enough to earn a nice pay raise. However, with Justin Falk on the roster and budding defensemen Conor Allen and Dylan McIlrath waiting in the wings, he becomes a casualty of circumstance.

Wednesday night on FTR RADIO we will discuss these issue and more with Sean Hartnett of WFAN. For more select the Fulltilt Rangers Radio link in the menu above.

Anthony Scultore has been covering the New York Rangers and the NHL since 2014. His work also appears at... More about Anthony Scultore

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