The New York Rangers landed one of the best players available on NHL Trade Deadline day, acquiring Martin St. Louis from the Tampa Bay Lightning for Ryan Callahan, a first-round pick and a conditional second-round choice Wednesday. Not only is it rare for teams to trade captains, but each team is among the contenders in the Eastern Conference. Tampa Bay general manager Steve Yzerman confirmed St. Louis had requested a trade, and Callahan will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. The first-round pick is in the 2015 NHL Draft and the conditional second-round selection is in 2014. The second-round pick becomes a first-round pick if the Rangers reach the Eastern Conference Final this season. Also, if Callahan signs a contract with the Lightning, the Rangers would receive Tampa Bay's second-round pick in 2015 in exchange for New York's seventh-round choice in 2015. St. Louis won the Hart and Art Ross trophies in 2004 and won the Art Ross again in 2013. He enters play Wednesday tied for eighth in the League with 61 points (29 goals). The 38-year-old forward has 973 points in 1,041 games, and four 90-point seasons. He has 388 points in 351 games since the start of the 2009-10 season, which is the most points in the League. St. Louis has one year remaining on his contract worth $5.625 million. Callahan has 11 goals and 25 points in 45 games this season and represented the United States at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. He was named captain of the Rangers on Sept. 12, 2011. His best season came in 2011-12, when he had 29 goals and 54 points in 76 games. Callahan has missed 17 games this season because of injury and played in 60 games in 2010-11. St. Louis has missed a total of seven games since the start of the 2002-03 season. St. Louis reportedly requested a trade from the Lightning after originally being left off the Canada Olympic team. Yzerman, who was in charge of picking that team, eventually named him as a replacement for injured teammate Steven Stamkos. St. Louis also was left off the Canada team for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, which Yzerman was in charge of selecting. St. Louis spent most of the 2014 tournament as Canada's 13th forward. The Rangers reportedly were negotiating with Callahan's representatives on a new contract. New York this season signed goaltender Henrik Lundqvist and defenseman Dan Girardi, who were going to be UFAs at the end of the season, to long-term contracts. The Rangers reportedly bolstered their blue line on Wednesday with the acquisition of defenseman Raphael Diaz from the Vancouver Canucks in a trade for a 2015 fifth-round draft pick. The trade was first reported by TSN.ca. The Canucks confirmed the transaction pending a trade call. Diaz, considered a second- or third-pairing defender, has now been a member of three teams in a little over a month. He was traded to the Canucks by the Montreal Canadiens for forward Dale Weise on Feb. 3. Diaz, an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, has one goal and 13 points in 52 games this season (46 with the Canadiens, six with the Canucks).
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