The Tampa Bay Lightning announced on Friday that their wing player Ryan Callahan will be sidelined indefinitely after suffering an “upper-body injury” in Thursday night’s 4-1 win over the Arizona Coyotes. Although the Lightning didn’t want to get into details, sources say that Callahan will spend 3 to 4 weeks recovering.
In the third period of the game, Callahan chased the puck in the Coyotes’ zone and got tied up with Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Callahan ended up crashing in the boards and had to leave the game with evident pain. He had a great game before exit, recording five shots and three blocks.
“I’m sick to my stomach to watch a guy work as hard as he did to come back, play so well and to have something like that,” – the Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said.
“You feel so bad for him,” – added Victor Hedman. “He’s battled hard through the whole year, and is such an important player for us.“
According to the Lightning GM Steve Yzerman, the team will not make any call-ups from AHL Syracuse, at least for now. The team has 12 healthy forwards, with J.T. Brown being the man to step in for Callahan in the fourth line. Tampa Bay Lightning is currently the best team in the league with 23 wins and only 6 losses.
Ryan Callahan was drafted 127th overall in 2004 NHL Draft by the New York Rangers. He became pro with the Hartford Wolf Pack of AHL and played there for the majority of the 2006–07 season. He was called up three times by the Rangers. In 2007–08 he became a part of the Rangers line up and didn’t look back. After the contract talks with the Rangers stalled in the 2013–14 season, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning. During his NHL career, Callahan scored 174 goals and had 177 assists.
