After wing Ryan Callahan signed a six-year, $34.8 million deal with the Lightning in June 2014, he wanted to try to find a way to give back to a Tampa Bay community that has felt like home for the Rochester, N.Y, native.
And with Callahan, 31, and his wife, Kyla, raising two young daughters, Charlotte, 4, and Evelyn, 2, a cause soon became clear: pediatric cancer. Kyla's family had been impacted by the cancer, which will be the focus of the Ryan Callahan Foundation, officially launched Friday.
Callahan had already created "Cally's Crew," inviting pediatric cancer patients and their families to Lightning home games in his suite the past two seasons.