Wed, Mar 5, 2014 at 11:25am

ST. LOUIS GOES TO MANHATTAN

The New York Rangers acquired winger Martin St. Louis and a conditional second-round draft pick in 2015 from the Tampa Bay Lightning for winger Ryan Callahan, a conditional second-round draft pick in 2014, a first-round draft pick in 2015 and a conditional seventh-round draft pick in 2015.

What does it give the New York Rangers
Wow. This is a huge deal to kick off deadline day. St. Louis is a scoring machine who expressed a desire to play for the Rangers, and now he gets his wish. Look for him to be reunited with former Lightning center {P Brad Richards} in Manhattan. They were once upon a time a deadly duo, but they last played together in 2007-08. St. Louis is a massive offensive upgrade from Callahan, but he also turns 39 in June. Once again, the Rangers are in win-now mode. Also note that if the Blueshirts reach the Eastern Conference finals, the second rounder in 2014 becomes a first rounder.

What does it give the Tampa Bay Lightning
If they HAD to trade their captain, the Lightning got more than fair value here. In Callahan, they get a born leader and gritty winger with good all-round ability. He won't replace St. Louis on the score sheet, and may not even play with returning franchise center {P Steven Stamkos}, but he'll help. Chances are, Callahan was a rental acquisition because Tampa Bay won't likely meet his asking price this summer. That said, Bolts GM Steve Yzerman did very well to land a '15 first rounder and '14 second rounder here. Also note that if Callahan re-signs with Tampa (unlikely), the Bolts would surrender a second-round pick in 2015 to the Rangers, while Tampa would receive New York's seventh rounder that year.

Fantasy impact
St. Louis may suffer a little downward shift in overall fantasy value by moving from the Lightning to the Rangers, mainly because he won't be playing with Stamkos any longer and Richards is in decline. That said, St. Louis hasn't played with Stamkos for a while and still produced excellent numbers. Stamkos may also suffer a little, while Richards should see a significant fantasy boost at this time. As for Callahan, he should remain steady in terms of fantasy value but his long-range value is now a big question mark.