Henrik Lundqvist a Ranger for life; Ryan Callahan "where he wants to be"

Wednesday was a momentous day for the New York Rangers franchise. Henrik Lundqvst, the cornerstone of the team, the face of New York hockey, re-upped with a 7-year deal, ending any speculation on the Kings future in New York. I said this earlier, and the situation seems pretty simple to me: Henrik Lundqvist is the best person on the planet at his job, so he gets paid the most. Here are your morning notes.

After preseason contract extension negotiations stalled, there wasn't much to report on Lundqvist or his camp talking to Glenn Sather and co. But Wednesday morning, the team announced it would hold a press conference regarding a "major announcement," and soon after, news broke of Lundqvist's new deal. [Daily News] [NY Post] [ESPN NY] [Rangers Rants] [Newsday]

There's a lot to digest in this new contract, from the cap hit, to market value, to what this means as far as the Rangers signing other impending free agents. [ESPN NY]

Now that he's locked into a deal with the Rangers through age 39, and focused on bringing a Stanley Cup back to Madison Square Garden, Lundqvist pronounced that he's a Ranger for life. [Rangers Rants]

While some are already bashing the length and cap number of the deal, Ludnqvist's contract extension was a risk the team had to take. [Eye on Hockey]

A full transcript of Tuesday's press conference. [Blueshirts Blog]

As the next player who's up to have his contract extended, Ryan Callahan said he's where he wants to be. [NY Post]

Per Andrew Gross, Taylor Pyatt skated on the third line at practice on Wednesday, meaning a possible healthy scratch for Benoit Pouliot.

Required reading: A great piece that ran today on ESPN about fighting, and George Parros. [ESPN]

<!-- ######## START NEXTCLICKS SNIPPET ######## -->
<link rel="stylesheet" href="http://cdn3.sbnation.com/assets/3604021/nextclicks.css" />
<div class="next-clicks-main-container">
<div><img class="next-clicks-logo" src="http://cdn3.sbnation.com/uploads/blog/sbnu_logo_minimal/221/large_blueshirtbanter.com.minimal.png" /></div>
<div class="next-clicks-header" style="background-color:#10337c;color:#bd1115">
<div class="next-clicks-header-container"><b>More from Blueshirt Banter</b>
<div data-share="false" data-show-faces="false" data-action="like" data-layout="button_count" data-href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Blueshirt-Banter-Unofficial-blog-about-the-New-York-Rangers/2571930994" class="fb-like"></div>
</div></div>
<div class="next-clicks-twitter"><a href="https://twitter.com/BlueshirtBanter" class="twitter-follow-button" data-show-count="false" data-size="small">Follow @BlueshirtBanter</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SBNationNHL" class="twitter-follow-button" data-show-count="false" data-size="small">Follow @SBNationNHL</a></div>
<ul class="next-clicks-ulist" style="color:#10337c">
<li><a href="http://www.blueshirtbanter.com/2013/12/4/5174428/henrik-lundqvist-extension-new-york-rangers-sign-lundqvist-to-seven?utm_source=blueshirtbanter&utm_medium=nextclicks&utm_campaign=blogs">Henrik Lundqvist Extension: New York Rangers Sign Lundqvist To Seven-Year Deal</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.blueshirtbanter.com/2013/12/4/5172946/nhl-trade-rumors-are-the-new-york-rangers-eyeing-dmitry-kulikov?utm_source=blueshirtbanter&utm_medium=nextclicks&utm_campaign=blogs">NHL Trade Rumors: Are The New York Rangers Eyeing Dmitry Kulikov?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.blueshirtbanter.com/2013/12/4/5173288/new-york-rangers-nhl-trade-rumors-alain-vigneault-rant-brassard-del-zotto?utm_source=blueshirtbanter&utm_medium=nextclicks&utm_campaign=blogs">Alain Vigneault sounds off; Brassard on his costly turnover; Scouts watching closely</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.blueshirtbanter.com/2013/12/3/5169906/rangers-vs-jets-cam-talbot-henrik-lundqvist?utm_source=blueshirtbanter&utm_medium=nextclicks&utm_campaign=blogs">Rangers Vs. Jets: Inconsistent, Frustrating And Another Loss </a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.blueshirtbanter.com/2013/12/3/5169228/new-york-rangers-nhl-winnipeg-jets-recap-ryan-callahan-contract-update?utm_source=blueshirtbanter&utm_medium=nextclicks&utm_campaign=blogs">Jets drop Rangers; The (non) controversy in goal; Ryan Callahan contract negotiation update</a></li>
</ul>
<!-- ######## END NEXTCLICKS SNIPPET ######## -->