The rest was history. “Nobody gave him anything. He grew as a player and he grew as a leader. December 30, 2020 | 10:23am | Updated December 30, 2020 | 11:29am. It was no surprise then that the right winger was eventually named Captain of the Rangers, playing a vital role in their run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2011-12. “See, that’s it for me right there,” John Tortorella, who was behind the bench for most of Callahan’s run in New York, told The Post during a telephone conversation on Tuesday. Ryan Callahan #24 of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Your California Privacy Rights They went backwards. But it was so satisfying. Sidelined since June 2019 when he was told by Doctors that he had a degenerative back disease, Callahan’s announcement to retire shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. A year later, of course, Callahan was part of the Tampa Bay team that upset the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Rangers in the conference final. DENVER – Logan Ryan “Low” Callahan, 20, died Feb. 24, 2021. Something was off. “But he showed the way. So Callahan went to the Lightning, who were swept in the first round. Privacy Notice We couldn’t close out the first two rounds. “Looking back, there was a lot that went on and not only with the contract. Rarely has the vision of a coach and a player coincided so perfectly. “I couldn’t have asked for anything more.”, © 2021 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved What now, if I can’t even play in this game?'”. Hence, official retirement at this time. It was a deal that sent seismic waves throughout the hockey world and Callahan had to quickly work out how he was going to replace a hero in St. Louis in Tampa, while coming to terms with the fact that he had just been traded by his hometown team. Ryan Callahan #24 of the Tampa Bay Lightning. He was named to the position several months prior in September 2011. Contract: 6 yr(s) / $34,800,000 Signing Bonus - He also specifically mentioned how great it was to wear the ‘C’ for the Rangers. “I didn’t know that about the Blue-White game, but the first thing about Ryan Callahan is that he was a self-made player. Most impressive, though, is the 626 blocked shots and the 2,147 hits he piled up during his career in the regular season, a perfect illustration of exactly the type of player Callahan was. He helped me define my role. — Ryan Callahan (@TheRealCally24) December 30, 2020. Ryan Callahan retires from NHL with degenerative back disease What then is that six years later, Callahan would be named the Rangers’ captain. Former NY Rangers captain Ryan Callahan of Rochester retires Callahan had been a reliable player for his first coach, Tom Renney. General manager Glen Sather handed out those clauses like candy on Halloween, and he would continue doing so, but he drew the line at Callahan. Negotiations started during the summer. He didn’t say an awful lot,” Tortorella said. Ryan Callahan signed a 6 year / $34,800,000 contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning, including $34,800,000 guaranteed, and an annual average salary of $5,800,000. Thanks for contacting us. After all, St. Louis had won a cup with the Lightning and was seen as a god there, but it didn’t take long for Callahan to strike up a strong bond with the people of Tampa Bay just as he had done with the Rangers. Best of luck in your retirement, Ryan Callahan. 24 said. I was digging in, they were digging in, there was negative stuff from both sides,” Callahan said. He would play around five years for Tampa Bay before a degenerative back disease ended his career. Nov 29, 2019 at 4:26 pm ET1 min read Callahan remains on long-term injured reserve, with his contract set to end in July. We had a good team, of course Hank [Henrik Lundqvist,] but Ryan Callahan was the guy who was the example.”. He did it by pure effort and desire. Powered by Minute Media © 2021 All Rights Reserved. He represented every single one of us out on that ice. The Rangers were transforming from a Black-and-Blueshirt mentality to a more polished, up-tempo, skill-oriented game, Tortorella was fired a couple of days after a five-game, second-round loss to the Bruins and was replaced by temperament-opposite Vigneault. “It was so satisfying. While he hasn’t played for a year, Ryan Callahan took to Twitter today to release a statement confirming that he is indeed hanging up the skates after a long and successful career in the NHL. They lost a six-game conference final to the Devils in a shocking upset. “It was a start of a new chapter and I wanted to be one of the leaders. This was the Blue-White intrasquad game that marked the annual climax of camp. 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