The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed forward Ryan Callahan to a six-year contract — for less money than he was offered by the Rangers before they packaged their captain in a trade for Martin St. Louis.
According to ESPN, the deal — announced Wednesday morning — is worth $34.8 million. In March, The Post’s Larry Brooks reported the Rangers’ final contract extension offer to Callahan was for a six-year, $36 million pact, countering his $39 million ask.
One difference: Callahan’s agreement with the Lightning reportedly includes a partial no-trade clause, while general manager Glen Sather told The Post that was an obstacle in Callahan’s talks with the Rangers. (Also, there’s no state income tax in Florida.)
Unable to reach an accord, the Rangers shipped Callahan and a pair of draft picks to Tampa Bay on March 5 to acquire Martin St. Louis, who became an instrumental part of their run to the Stanley Cup finals. Per stipulations of the trade, Callahan re-signing with the Lightning means the Rangers will receive a 2015 second-round pick from Tampa Bay and the Lightning will get a seventh-round pick in 2015 in return.
Callahan, who turned 29 last month, finished last season with 36 points in a combined 65 matches for the Rangers and Lightning.
“I am excited for this new chapter of my career,” Callahan said, according to the AP. “Tampa Bay has been a great place to live and play from the day I got there. As soon as the season ended I knew it was a place I wanted to be.”