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Rangers owner says Callahan was traded after ‘asking for too much’ money

Ryan Callahan

New York Rangers’ Ryan Callahan (24) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2014, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

AP

Ryan Callahan said he wanted to stay with the New York Rangers, but the team’s owner James Dolan told ESPN Radio that Callahan also wanted too much money. Dolan states that that’s the reason why he was sent to the Tampa Bay Lightning in a blockbuster trade.

“I think Ryan, essentially, was asking too much for his services and was going to hamstring the team,” Dolan said, according to Katie Strang’s transcription. “With that, I think [general manager Glen Sather] did the right thing.”

Reports indicated that Callahan, 28, and the Rangers made progress toward a compromise regarding a contract extension, with some murmurs that they were (only?) a few hundred thousand apart. Callahan explained that “it’s the part of the business that’s not fun.”

Many Rangers fans will likely be curious to see what kind of deal their former captain ends up with, then.

Callahan is fitting in pretty nicely with the Bolts so far; he has four points in six games and seems active with 19 shots on goal heading into Tuesday. As of this moment, Martin St. Louis only has two assists in his first seven games with the Rangers (his eighth is in progress).

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins