Bobby Ryan Is Being Bought Out By The Sens, Is There A Fit On The Bruins?
So the NHL's buyout window has officially opened today (runs thru Oct 8th before free agency) and Bobby Ryan is the first player to be bought out (well about to be). He had two years left on his deal at $7.25 million, this saves the Sens (who are gonna need help to get to the cap floor) about $3.67M (lol, Melnyk!) He only played in 24 games (5G, 3A) last year after entering an NHL/NHLPA assistance program for alcohol abuse in November. Ryan went on to win the Masterton this year after sharing his story and returning to the NHL. I give him tons of credit for coming forward with his story, it couldn't have been easy. Sportsnet did a piece on "The Secret Life Of Bobby Ryan" which is a must watch. Now let's talk about the player and his future...
Saw Mike From Woburn tweet this out this morning and thought. Why not? The 3rd line is anything but solidified, I think he could help out Charlie Coyle. Like Mike alluded to, he's being bought out, you'd be able to get him for cheap, and he'd be playing on a competitive team that is looking to go on a deep run in the playoffs. Both sides should consider it. Hasn't score more than 20 goals since the 2016 season but he was nails in the 2017 run the Sens went on. On the flip side, you're gonna have tons of guys competing for spots in camp, ala Jack Studnicka, Anders Bjork, Zach Senyshyn, etc. Do you want 33 year old Ryan to be in the way of one those younger kids? If you're team 'get younger and faster', then Ryan wouldn't be a fit. Even so, this seems like, to me at least, a low risk, high reward situation.
Now does Don Sweeney have bigger plans perhaps? I know the B's have had their eyes on Evgenii Dadonov (25G, 22A, 47 points in 69 games - nice) per reports (he's a Panthers UFA), but his price tag might be too high for Boston. Taylor Hall is the pipe dream. I know the B's want need help in their top 6, but if Sweeney wants to see Kase alongside Krejci and DeBrusk for a full year then Ryan on the 3rd line with Coyle makes a ton of sense. Perhaps if all of Boston's targets fall through, they'll give Bobby Ryan a call.
2 weeks until free agency opens. Buckle up.
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ps. Ryan scoring a hat trick in his first game back from returning from an alcohol abuse program is goosebumps city. So awesome.