Senators acquire forward Bobby Ryan from Ducks
This day could not get crazier.
In the wake of the greatest disaster in the history of the franchise, general manager Bryan Murray has made a tremendous splash, replacing departed legend Daniel Alfredsson with power forward Bobby Ryan of the Anaheim Ducks.
The price was steep:
Silfverberg, Noesen and 1st to ANA for Bobby Ryan. Big deal for OTT.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) July 5, 2013
Jakub Silfverberg was the apple of many fans' eyes this season, having a great pedigree from the AHL, and was the fancy pick among Sens fans to win the Calder Trophy. Stefan Noesen was a player the team valued over Matt Puempel, using their second first round pick on him--though he may have been replaced by Curtis Lazar this past weekend. Either way, it was a steep price indeed. But it pretty much had to be paid. Senators fans did not react to the loss of Alfredsson well, and Murray had been talking about adding a top-six forward. He instead added a top-three forward.
Ryan is apparently excited about the move.
Ottawa.... Im coming in hot
— Bobby Ryan (@b_ryan9) July 5, 2013
And playing on Jason Spezza's wing, why wouldn't he be?
The Senators have been vastly reshaped today. The forward lines now look something like this:
Milan Michalek - Jason Spezza - Bobby Ryan
Clarke MacArthur- Kyle Turris - Mika Zibanejad
Cory Conacher - Z. Smith - Colin Greening
Erik Condra - Jim O`Brien - Chris Neil
That bottom six is a jigsaw puzzle you could put together any way you wanted to. A youngester like Jean-Gabriel Pageau could easily push for a spot there--he has already beaten out Jim O`Brien this past season.
Our own Peter Raaymakers puts this move into perspective:
Ryan will step on to the Senators' top line alongside Jason Spezza and Milan Michalek. The line will be among the most potent in the Flortheast Division, especially when combined with Erik Karlsson on the blue line. I'm salivating at the prospect of Ottawa's first powerplay unit for next season.
Ryan also comes in with a reasonable contract, with a cap hit of just $5.1M for the next two seasons (his actual salary will come in at $5,562,500)--curiously, less than Alfredsson signed for with Detroit. He's scored over 30 goals in the last four full NHL seasons played, and shouldn't have a problem doing that while playing with Spezza.
Today has been an emotional roller coaster for Ottawa Senators fans, and the Senators have paid a hefty price to bring our spirits back up. But you've got to give to get, and Bobby Ryan is an incredible talent to add to the Senators' roster.