TSN’s Darren Dreger hosted a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) earlier today where he answered questions about hockey and sports reporting. One juicy tidbit he relayed was that Ottawa Senators forward Bobby Ryan could be a big name left exposed in the expansion draft, and that his exposure may not be a surprise in the hockey community.
Ryan is having a disappointing season. He has 11G and 10A in 46 games, and on pace for the lowest numbers of his career. The stinger is that he is in year two of a seven-year deal worth $7.25MM a year. The only thing more surprising than his exposure is that the Vegas Golden Knights may decline to pick him. At this point in his career, Ryan is not living up to his contract, and the Golden Knights would be saddled with Ryan for five more years. Given that the new expansion team is expected to select a high-cost goaltender, Ryan may be too rich for Vegas.
The former number two selection in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft never reached the potential scouts initially held for him. Almost a PPG player with the Anaheim Ducks, his production decreased significantly after being traded to Ottawa in the 2013 offseason. Ryan last scored over 30 goals in 2011-12, and is on pace for less than 20 this season.
Exposing Ryan allows the Senators to avoid asking veteran defenseman Dion Phaneuf to waive his No-Movement Clause, something that the Senators were reportedly contemplating. It will also allow the team to protect a Mark Stone or Kyle Turris.
An interesting debate between exposing Ryan or exposing Dion. Similar salaries and similar term(Dion has 4 years vs Ryan’s 5) and neither truly living up to their contracts.
I think I’d lean more towards exposing Bobby Ryan simply because Dion offers more intangibles than he does and doesn’t need to rely on offensive production to provide value to the team.
With all of that said, according to Cap Friendly, Ryan also possesses a modified NMC so he’ll have to give permission to be exposed.
As a Sens fan, I like both players. But I’d easily want Ryan to be claimed by Las Vegas. Ever since that trade, he has been a shell of his former self. I wouldn’t want phaneuf gone though, like you said, he provides more to the team and is a leader. His cap hit is palatable
The Sens seem to have a much easier time finding offensive players than defencemen(Stone, Hoffman and to a lesser extent Dzingel, Pageau). And with Ryan’s potential cap off the books, they’d have the ability to allocate that space to a player or two who provides more value than Ryan has.
Agreed. I’ve always hated Phaneuf for the cheap style of play he often likes to use, and still don’t like him even wearing the O. But I’d much rather see them expose Ryan. At least Dion plays hard every game, every shift, and is a leader in the clubhouse that the defensive core can learn from and build around his grit. Bobby Ryan has just been a huge disappointment from the time he left Anaheim as far as I’m concerned. If he’d be willing to move, adios.
hope we don’t keep him. he blows.
I wonder if Ottawa would eat some of his salary to facilitate a trade.
I’m not convinced that Las Vegas is going to select a high-priced goaltender. They’re not going to picke one of Dallas high priced goalies. They may consider Jimmy Howard, but his injury issues could given the Knights second thoughts. One goalie that I think they will select is Washington’s Philipp Grubauer. Vegas GM George McPhee drafted Grubauer in Washington. The German netminder has played well as the backup in Washington and McPhee knows what he is getting in Grubauer.