The piping hot rumors swirling around the Anaheim Ducks willingness to shop winger Bobby Ryan have cooled off just a tad. But, trust me the Ryan saga is far from over.
Just days after Ryan's named came up again as possible trade bait, the news did not sit well with the Ducks star. The 25-year-old is coming off his fourth consecutive season of 30 or more goals and having already endured and survived months of trade speculation throughout the teams slow first-half start, Ryan appeared ready to remain a Duck mainstay for years to come.
Not so fast. The Ducks missed the memo about Ryan future in Anaheim. While prepping for draft, Anaheim once again began entertaining offers for Ryan. Once Ryan caught wind of the latest round of rumors he flipped his lid.
"I take things personally," Ryan said after being asked about the latest wave of rumors. "Anaheim to me has been a team over the past year that really has shown me nothing to prove that they want me here, unfortunately. Obviously, it's not the ideal situation. When you get drafted, you want to win championships with that team and every time they look to add a piece to the puzzle, I'm the piece going the other way.
"I gotta be honest with you. At this point, I don't care. Move me … because it's just tough going to the rink every day knowing that if something goes wrong, you're going to be the guy moved."
Seething words from a young star in the prime of his career. The Philadelphia Flyers are believed to be the obvious destination for the Cherry Hill, NJ native. Especially, after Ryan himself said the Flyers would be his first choice if a trade were to go down.
It really looked as though Ryan would no longer be a Duck by the time the draft concluded.
Now, three days later Ryan is still a Duck and Anaheim may in fact be in full face saving mode.
The club may be in the midst of finding a band-aid big enough to cover up their own gaping self-inflicted wound. Bob Murray and company let the word slip out they were shopping the gifted forward - not once, but twice in just a matter of months. How does one fix that?
How was Ryan supposed to react? It's only natural for him to be angry with management. He is a professional athlete but, the feeling of not being wanted has to sting. I don't blame him one bit.
When I watched Ryan this past season I saw a guy that hustled and worked hard on every shift. He is clearly one of the teams best players. I made it known several time that I fell in love with the guys game. The Ducks would be mad to let a player like this get away.
Remember the Superman goal against Edmonton?
For a franchise seemingly in flux, like the Ducks, wouldn't it behoove them keep their star players happy? At this point, I believe Murray's best option in to trade Ryan and get the best deal he can. I really don't see any way for this to work.
There is no way to fully mend this partnership. Once Bobby went through the media to vent his frustrations, the relationship ceased to exist.
What do you think? Will Ryan be an Anaheim Duck next season?
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