News Article: Callahan leaves door open to return to Rangers / Richards Speaks Out

[Zamboner]

You know what, **** Richards. Richards was best case scenario, the polar opposite of Cally, saying all the "right" things in the locker room, but then going out on the ice and playing like he doesn't give a ****, which he clearly hasn't for the majority of his tenure here. I'll take Cally's flawed approach over Richards. Nobody's going to listen to Richards anyway, when he can't be bothered to back check for two plus straight years. Piece of garbage.

 

[Johnny HFBOARDS]

LOL Pavs, Draft baby Draft

 

[Mikos87]

Leslie Treff ‏@HFNYRangers Mar 5
Not happy with picks Rangers gave away in Callahan deal. But He had to go--not been good in the locker room for awhile.

Would like to know more about this as Cally is known as the more respected players in the league.

I heard a journalist say that he was surprised at how much control Cally had in that locker room, said it hearkened back to the Messier days and that is pretty uncommon these days.

Did Cally lead the mutiny against Torts?

Was he not an AV type of guy with his ice-time being cut?

I know there is a 140 character limit on Twitter, but she can definitely extrapolate further if she's going to drop a tweet like that.

 

[Doctor King Schultz]

So what's next. Staal seems to laid back and his contract issue clouds his situation. McD seems like Cally was but he too seems a little laid back. Can he grow into the role? I don't know. Girardi seems closest to a complete captain type but will he still be able to maintain the role as his skills erode in 3 or 4 years and he is on longer a first pair D.

An interesting situation.

If Girardi scored more goals I would have no problem making him the Captain. I don't think Staal would make a great captain. If Richard's isn't bought out I wouldn't be surprised if they made him the captain.

 

[Fataldogg]

Don't mind what Richards said. He was honest. I agree with him, and I've always appreciated Richards' honesty with the team and his own performance. I've always thought Richards would make a good captain for this team. He will be bought out, and deservedly so, because he can't produce at the level we need him to for his salary. And it's the same reason we had to move on from Callahan.

 

[NoQuitInNewMexico]

That Leslie tweet is really weird and I'd love to know more about it.

I'm not in the camp that the Rangers captain really matters that much. St. Louis is a different element in the room because he's a star who's been around forever and won stuff, but this is Henrik Lundqvist's hockey team.

 

[BlueshirtBlitz]

That Leslie tweet is really weird and I'd love to know more about it.

I'm not in the camp that the Rangers captain really matters that much. St. Louis is a different element in the room because he's a star who's been around forever and won stuff, but this is Henrik Lundqvist's hockey team.

We have a winner.

 

[Cake or Death]

Richards had 3 options while Callahan was here, if he has been unhappy with Callahan's leadership.
a) tell Callahan in person. Approach him in a good spirit, Callahan would have to be an idiot to turn down his advise.
b) if Callahan doesn't change his stance, tell the coach to ask him to be a bit more vocal.
c) IF and only IF a) and b) fail and he felt that a louder captain would spark the team: talk to the media.

He did option d): Wait until Callahan leaves town and throw a hissy fit via media. To me, that's not okay.

Richards hardly threw a hissy fit. And those are far from the only options and not necessarily the best. If Cally's strength is lead by example, that's true of a lot of captains and it works just fine, because other players can fill in and be vocal. And that doesn't even need to fall on captains: it can come from anywhere, even a backup goalie or limited ice time fourth liner. And Richards was asked if the leadership was affected and I don't think his response, while long-winded, was anything horrific:

"There hasn’t been much of a change at all in the dynamic. Off-ice, there are some issues that we have to make sure are being taken care of, but as far as the team goes, we have enough guys here who are comfortable with taking a leadership role and understand what that means.

Things that have to be said will still get said. I’m not taking anything away from Cally, but he was pretty young and not that vocal. It’s not like he was 38 and had been in the league for 18 years, so everybody was looking to him to listen to what he had to say. We have other guys here who know what to say and when to say it.

I don’t want to make it sound like we don’t miss him. What he did on the ice, you can’t replace. It’s just that nothing is really going to change in the way we approach things in the room."

It's a long-winded response, but nothing major either way imo. Nor do I know the exact questions he was asked and how many of them. I do know first hand the press can twist the **** of out of things, so I take any quotes that I don't see all questions and all responses with my own eyes with a massive grain of salt.

 

[Tawnos]

On trade deadline day LeslieHF tweeted something saying there were Rangers locker room issues. I'll try and find it.


found it:

Not sure that means what you think it means. Seems more like the problem was the cloud hanging over the room knowing he was going to be dealt. An issue caused by our GM being so open about sign or trade.

 

[Samuel Culper III]

That Leslie tweet is really weird and I'd love to know more about it.

I'm not in the camp that the Rangers captain really matters that much. St. Louis is a different element in the room because he's a star who's been around forever and won stuff, but this is Henrik Lundqvist's hockey team.

I agree with this. If we're going to name a captain, I'm of the mind that it should be G. A lot of people say McD, and he'd probably be fine, but just because he's our rock doesn't mean he'd excel as the captain. I'm not suggesting he's a poor leader, just that being a boss with your play doesn't mean you're C material. Girardi, as near as I can tell, is more vocal than Cally, leads just as much by example, is well liked and well respected, has a sense of humor that buys him loyalty from his mates and is in the lineup every single night. He's a veteran and he just signed a good long term deal to probably end his career here. I think that's as good as it gets from the currently available options. It might not be in the same league as the undisputed leaders like Toews or Backes, but it's a good choice. At the end of the day, Lundqvist is the true general of the troops anyhow.

 

[ltrangerfan]

Not sure that means what you think it means. Seems more like the problem was the cloud hanging over the room knowing he was going to be dealt. An issue caused by our GM being so open about sign or trade.

If I remember correctly the tweet took place after Cally was dealt?

I remember thinking that Cally was with the team a long time and many players felt they had just lost a long time ally / friend. There was a cloud hanging over the room which truly wasn't surprising as a locker room environment is similar to the family unit.

That's all there was.

 

[Pizza]

I heard nothing that leaves any doors open. Callahan's days as a Ranger are behind him.

 

[Levitate]

Richards comments aren't that bad, he's trying to talk about the team he's on and how losing Callahan won't hurt them in the leadership department...I don't think he's trying to diss Callahan so much as say "look, we'll be fine, we have a lot of guys in this room who can provide that leadership and Callahan wasn't a vocal guy anyways"

 

[Leonardo87]

Richards comments aren't that bad, he's trying to talk about the team he's on and how losing Callahan won't hurt them in the leadership department...I don't think he's trying to diss Callahan so much as say "look, we'll be fine, we have a lot of guys in this room who can provide that leadership and Callahan wasn't a vocal guy anyways"

Richards is most likely going to be right behind Callahan out the door, so I don't think it really matters at this point.

 

[TeamStewie]

I remember reading earlier in the year that Vigneault wasn't particularly impressed with the leadership on the team. All this makes me wonder if he was talking about Richards or Callahan or both.

 

[Leonardo87]

I remember reading earlier in the year that Vigneault wasn't particularly impressed with the leadership on the team. All this makes me wonder if he was talking about Richards or Callahan or both.

hey are u part of the nyrangerland forum? Tell them I said hello.

Also let them know Callahan has been excellent in Tampa.

No hard feelings, because Cally is my favorite player and want him to succeed, and still don't agree with what the Rangers did, over a NTC.

 

[Boom Boom Geoffrion*]

hey are u part of the nyrangerland forum? Tell them I said hello.

Also let them know Callahan has been excellent in Tampa.

No hard feelings, because Cally is my favorite player and want him to succeed, and still don't agree with what the Rangers did, over a NTC.

My favorite team > My favorite player

You don't agree with what the Rangers did but you're ok with what Callahan did?

 

[Leonardo87]

My favorite team > My favorite player

You don't agree with what the Rangers did but you're ok with what Callahan did?

What did Callahan do? Want job security so he would not have to deal with trade rumors for awhile? I have learned how bitter Ranger fans are, and Tampa fans who got screwed by MSL are loving Callahan now.

They throw these huge contracts with NTCs at UFAs from other teams, his best friend gets a NTC in his contract, and he wants the same, so it's all on him? This is just proof to how bitter and clueless the ranger fan base has become.

 

[Don Chytil]

What did Callahan do? Want job security so he would not have to deal with trade rumors for awhile? I have learned how bitter Ranger fans are, and Tampa fans who got screwed by MSL are loving Callahan now.

They throw these huge contracts with NTCs at UFAs from other teams, his best friend gets a NTC in his contract, and he wants the same, so it's all on him? This is just proof to how bitter and clueless the ranger fan base has become.

Who cares, not a Ranger anymore, get over it. You'd clearly be awful at running a business, you have an emotional attachment to the player that clouds your judgment on what's best for the team. I'd rather be bitter and clueless than root for a player on another team anyday. If it bothers you so much then go root for Tampa instead and stop whining all over our boards.

 

[TeamStewie]

Sad thing is he really didn't even need a NTC because no one else would've wanted to take on that ridiculous contract.

 

[kovazub94]

The problem with Richards' comments is the implication that older players (like Richards himself) somehow automatically have more clout in the locker room and don't need to be held accountable. Well guess what Brad, if Vignault has any sense your next captain is also going to be someone who is much younger than you are and doesn't have a championship yet. You're SC win in Tampa doesn't mean anything to me. Callahan is twice the player Richards is right now.

That Richards quote summed up the Rangers mentality during the dark ages - "Hey listen, I had lots of success years ago with other teams so lay off me now, I know what I'm doing." That may work with certain players who can still hold their own on the ice (Jagr, Selanne) but Richards really isn't a good player anymore. He's the 3rd best center on a team with awful centers. Shut your mouth and if someone like Callahan or McDonagh and Girardi tells you to do something you better do it because you're not "the guy" anymore.

The comments from Brad isnt a problem. He's not trashing anyone. Fair and honest comments.

That being said, the fact that those words were said by Brad Richards, a player with an A he absolutely does not deserve and shows absolutely no leadership and clutch on the ice in tight or hard games, is annoying. Brad is in no position to jugde leadership, as he himself is the worst case of leadership in this team.

Of course i dont know whats being said in the locker room, but my jugdement of leadership is from what i see on ice. On ice, Callahan is a leader grade A and Richards grade E.

Brad: Maybe you should stop talking to media about locker room leadership and start filling that on-ice leadership that disappeared with Dubi and Cally.

Catching up on comments read. These two summarize the issue for me. Until results start supporting your position, the questioning of lost leadership is legitimate. And Richards' discounting Cally in his role as a captain of the team and voicing his opinion under current circumstances is really disturbing to me. Looking forward to his buyout at seasons end.

 

[itsPLkielbasa]

People are still butt hurt after this Cally deal? MOVE ON already...

 

[kovazub94]

Richards comments aren't that bad, he's trying to talk about the team he's on and how losing Callahan won't hurt them in the leadership department...I don't think he's trying to diss Callahan so much as say "look, we'll be fine, we have a lot of guys in this room who can provide that leadership and Callahan wasn't a vocal guy anyways"

I think it was "it is not like he is 38" in the context of Cally's youth impacting his leadership qualities is what makes it bad.

 

[Jackpot]

Is it possible we could buy him out and restructure his contract? I'm sure he understands the economics of it all... Just a thought..

 

[ThisYearsModel]

Would like to know more about this as Cally is known as the more respected players in the league.

I heard a journalist say that he was surprised at how much control Cally had in that locker room, said it hearkened back to the Messier days and that is pretty uncommon these days.

Did Cally lead the mutiny against Torts?

Was he not an AV type of guy with his ice-time being cut?

I know there is a 140 character limit on Twitter, but she can definitely extrapolate further if she's going to drop a tweet like that.

Yup. Start there. Cally is gone simply due to his negotiating stance, which is probably due in part to the way AV was using him. No more PP time, 3rd line minutes, etc. Hard to counter that Cally forced his way out with his negotiation stance. He won't be coming back, because Sather will not pursue him after this season. Bet he ends up in Buffalo, or maybe NJ.