The Ottawa Senators gave up a lot to acquire Bobby Ryan from the Anaheim Ducks before the 2013-14 NHL season, and they will make an effort to re-sign him before he’s able to hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent next summer.
“I think all of these players that are going into their last year around the league, some of them will sign early because of the situation and the contract they’re getting,” Senators general manager Bryan Murray recently told the team’s website. “Other people will wait a little bit. We’ve talked to Bobby at length through his agents.
“I believe it will take until he comes to Ottawa for training camp to continue the discussions. He’s one of the next guys we’re definitely going to try to keep here.”
Ryan tallied 48 points (23 goals, 25 assists) in 70 games last season, snapping a streak of three straight non-lockout seasons with 30-plus goals.
His drop in goal scoring could be attributed to no longer playing alongside Ducks superstar forwards Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, but there’s still no excuse for Ryan to be producing less than 50 points per season.
Ryan is in the final year of his current contract that carries a salary cap hit of $5.1 million, per CapGeek. If he has a good 2014-15 campaign, the American winger could land a deal worth $6.5 million or more per season on the open market as a quality goal scorer in the prime of his career.
He might have to take a hometown discount to stay in Ottawa because the Senators are not among the highest-spending teams in the league. They currently have the third-most cap space.
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Photo via Twitter/@Senators
