The New York Rangers of 2010-11 are no strangers to losing key players from their roster for long stretches due to injury.  Marian Gaborik has missed 13 games, Chris Drury 29 games and Vinny Prospal every game thus far and all are key components to the Rangers, but this is different.  You will hear all the clichés about how the New York Rangers have played well without Gaborik, Drury and Prospal, but losing Ryan Callahan is a different beast altogether.  I will grant that the principle is the same in that the team will have to rally and that other players will have to step up in his absence for the next six weeks, but the shoes that need filling are possibly the biggest on this club outside of Henrik Lundqvist.  Ryan Callahan has been called the heart and soul of the this hockey club for a reason and it is all of those reasons that making losing him different than any of the other losses the Rangers have suffered this year.

In losing Drury they lost the man who wears the ‘C,’ a very good faceoff man and an excellent penalty killer.  In losing Gaborik they lost their most explosive and dynamic offensive player.  In losing Prospal they lost a tough veteran who can be a very good offensive contributor.  All of those things are obviously important to a hockey club, but the difference in losing Callahan you are losing a combination of all of them in one guy.  With Callahan down you are losing an excellent penalty killer, one of your best forecheckers, a key power play guy, one of your leading point scorers, a guy who can chip in some goals, an unquestioned leadership figure and a lead by example leave it all out there every night player.

For the rest of the article including who might be the biggest loser with the injury and why you cannot replace Callahan in the same way you have the others: http://bleedingallblue.blogspot.com/2010/12/for-rangers-losing-ryan-callahan-will.html