New York Rangers roundtable: Best trade of the Lundqvist era

John Williams- The St. Louis trade

The Ryan Callahan for Martin St. Louis deal was a trade that was great for both teams. Some would argue that the Ryan McDonagh trade was the best the Rangers made in the era (foreshadowing).

However, the ultimate goal of a franchise is to win a Cup, and this deal set the team up well to have a few years to push for that accomplishment.

The Rangers acquired a player who was still at the top of his game at age 38, which was an incredible feat on its own. St. Louis didn’t score too much at the end of the regular season — he only had a goal and seven assists in 19 games — but you could tell that the team was a lot better with him around.

The playoffs came and St. Louis gave Rangers fans some of the greatest memories they will ever experience. I’m talking about the Mothers Day goal and, my personal favorite, the overtime goal in game four against the Canadiens.

St. Louis would play with the Blueshirts for one more season and one more trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. They wouldn’t end up winning the Cup, but they came damn close.

The most underrated part of the deal was the fact that they traded Callahan in his walk year.

Callahan was going to get paid in a big way and the Rangers dealt him before they could give him the big contract. He was a great Ranger, but it was clear that his body would begin to break down because of his physical style of play. The Lightning ended up extending him and are hurting right now because of it.

Yes, it hurt to give up two first round picks in the deal, but it’s something you can afford to do when the window to win a championship is wide open.