Bolts by the Bay
Fansided

Five worst Tampa Bay Lightning contracts of the Salary Cap Era

By Benjamin Henderson

Jan 19, 2017; San Jose, CA, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning center Valtteri Filppula (51) looks to pass against the San Jose Sharks in the third period at SAP Center at San Jose. The Sharks won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 19, 2017; San Jose, CA, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning center Valtteri Filppula (51) looks to pass against the San Jose Sharks in the third period at SAP Center at San Jose. The Sharks won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tampa Bay Lightning
Apr 4, 2019; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ryan Callahan (24) during warm up against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports /

Tampa Bay Lightning Worst Contracts: Ryan Callahan

  • Six years for $34,800,000 in 2014

It feels unfair to put Callahan on this list because the man did everything he could and put his body on the line every night while in Tampa.

The problem is his body gave out, and his contract didn’t match the product on the ice.

If Callahan had just been a fourth-line guy with a league-minimum contract, we would all remember him far more fondly in Tampa.

Originally acquired in a trade deadline deal with New York because Martin St. Louis threw a hissy fit, Callahan was billed as a high-skill player that could also lay the boom.

Tampa then signed him to a big extension, and during his first full season with Tampa, he was as advertised. He produced 54 points while delivering 181 hits.

But by 2015-16, he was down to 28 points.

Then by 2016-17, the injuries kicked in.

Callahan didn’t even top 20 points in a single season during his last three years, and by 2019 he had to call it quits. He was traded to Ottawa in the 2019 offseason, placed on LTIR, and never played again.

We all love Ryan Callahan the human and player, but at $5,800,000 a year it was a costly miss for the Lightning.

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