NHL Trade Rumors: San Jose Sharks Nearly Acquired Ryan Callahan
By Eric He
The San Jose Sharks nearly pulled off a deal for Rangers forward Ryan Callahan. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Sometimes, the best moves are the ones you don’t make.
San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson adhered to that mantra on Wednesday, not pulling off any deals before the NHL trade deadline.
However, that doesn’t mean there weren’t any rumors.
The first was from TSN’s Bob McKenzie, who reported that the Sharks and Jets were discussing a potential deal that would send former Shark Devin Setoguchi back to San Jose. Then, a report out of Winnipeg suggested that the Sharks were “aggressively pursuing” Islanders’ forward Thomas Vanek. Both rumors were shot down, Setoguchi stayed in Winnipeg, and Vanek was traded to the Canadiens.
So the trade deadline came and went on Wednesday, and all was silent in San Jose.
Well, almost:
So there's this: told that the San Jose Sharks went pretty far down the road on Ryan Callahan deal with NYR...
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) March 5, 2014
@Real_ESPNLeBrun. Agreed. Sharks and Columbus were both considered good plan "B" options if deal with Lightning fell through. #Tradecentre
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) March 5, 2014
Yes, according to Pierre LeBrun of ESPN and Darren Dreger of TSN, the Sharks nearly pulled off a deal for Rangers forward Ryan Callahan, who wound up being dealt to Tampa Bay in the blockbuster deal that sent the disgruntled Martin St. Louis to New York.
Callahan has 11 goals and 14 assists in 45 games this season, and would have been good to have in the lineup, but he is a free agent at season’s end. The Sharks would have had to give up a few pieces to acquire him, and we can only wonder who Wilson dangled.
So in the end, nothing was done, but based on all the rumors that flew around, that doesn’t mean that Wilson didn’t try. Nevertheless, the Sharks hope that their roster as is will be good enough to lead them to a deep postseason run.