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Ottawa Should Look To Move Bobby Ryan

September 23, 2014, 10:31 PM ET [109 Comments]
Ryan Wilson
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The Ottawa Senators have one of the lower payrolls in the NHL (currently 28th) and that does not usually bode well for a team's playoff chances. Currently I have divisional foes Boston, Tampa Bay, Montreal, Detroit, and perhaps even Toronto ahead of them going into this season.

Bobby Ryan will be looking for an expanded role with the team as well as a lot of money for a lot of years. Is this an investment the Senators should be looking to make?

Given that the Senators will have an uphill battle this season for the playoffs that puts them in an interesting spot with Bobby Ryan. If the Senators are not chasing a playoff spot it would be easier to make the choice to trade him away.


Let's take a look at his numbers and try to see what kind of value the Senators can get by re-signing Bobby Ryan.

First up his offensive output since his first full season in the NHL





For the most part his offense has trended downward since coming into the league. He did see a positive bump during his first full season in Ottawa, but it was still well short of his previous success in earlier years.

Is it probable that the positive trend continues? According to an article written by Jesse Spector of the Sporting News , no. He shows examples of all time great players as well as some of the modern stars and the conclusion is that after the age of 26 a player's offensive peak has been reached. Bobby Ryan is currently 27 years old. This doesn't mean he can't buck the trend and have a big year(s), it just isn't going to happen for the next 7 or 8 years which is the kind of contract it will take to keep him in Ottawa.

Offense is just one part of the equation, what about possession?





Uh oh. This isn't a good trend at all.

Both offense and possession are not trending in the proper direction.

The good news: Bobby Ryan still has very high perceived value around the NHL. The Senators could definitely get a haul for moving him, especially in a deadline deal.

Here is where teams make mistakes when handing out big contracts. They pay for past performance, not future performance. I can't help but think that whoever pays Bobby Ryan the big money is going to be paying for what was, not what is.

Cue up the trade proposals.



Thanks for reading!

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