Callahan signed to three-year deal
Rangers right wing Ryan Callahan reacts to a second period goal by Marian Gaborik against the Islanders at Madison Square Garden. Credit: Christopher Pasatieri
The Rangers wrapped up their last bit of offseason business Wednesday, signing forward Ryan Callahan to a three-year, $12.825-million contract less than 24 hours before his arbitration hearing.
Now, with all their core players retained, one big-ticket center in Brad Richards added through free agency and a few complementary parts added on, Callahan believes it's time for the team to take a bigger step in 2011-12.
"With our lineup, we need to be a team that competes for the Stanley Cup every year," Callahan said. "It's not good enough anymore just to get to the playoffs. We need to do something once we're there."
Callahan could be named the next Rangers captain sometime before the season begins, and his play last season as the leader of the core -- a homegrown group that includes Henrik Lundqvist, Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, Derek Stepan, Marc Staal, Dan Girardi, Michael Sauer and Ryan McDonagh -- showed that he could fill the role.
He doesn't much care who will get the "C'' stitched on his sweater following Chris Drury's buyout last month.
"I don't think it should matter," he said. "It'll obviously be an honor for whoever gets it, but you have to lead whether you have a C or an A. We've all got to do what we can."
Glen Sather and new assistant general manager Jeff Gorton have done what they could to shape the roster, which currently has 14 forwards with NHL experience. With Callahan's $4.27-million cap hit, the team is roughly $800,000 under next season's $64.3 million cap.
The Callahan signing triggered a 48-hour buyout window that began at midnight, but indications are the Rangers won't be buying anyone out, not even Wojtek Wolski, whose $3.8-million cap hit would be reduced to $466,667 of dead space this season if he were bought out.
"The younger guys who aren't so much younger anymore, like myself, like Dubi, like Staal, we know what it takes now," Callahan said. "We're not building anymore, we're a contender and we have to approach the season that way."
The Dolan family owns controlling interest in the Rangers, MSG and Cablevision. Cablevision owns Newsday.
More Rangers
