One of the bigger topics that's certainly going to hang over the heads of the Ottawa Senators organization this season will be that of pending unrestricted free agent Bobby Ryan, whose contract reaches expiry at the end of the 2014-2015 season.
Ryan, acquired in last summer's blockbuster trade with Anaheim, had a pretty strong first-year with the team. Despite playing with a sports hernia for most of the season, Ryan potted forty-eight points (including 23-goals) in seventy games. Not his finest work, but for a guy who was likely playing well below 100% for most of the season, a more than acceptable output.
The team has an obvious need to extend Ryan at some point this year -- if not for the fact that he's one of the team's best players, then for the fact that this is an organization that desperately needs some good PR. A handful of players -- including two captains now -- have picked up their stuff and headed for greener pastures, and Ottawa probably wants to reestablish the notion that players
want to play for Ottawa.
One major angle on Ottawa's side, I think, is the fact that Bobby Ryan
seems enamored with the city. To note one of a handful of quotes:
"I love it here," said Ryan, one of five key Senators presently holding contracts that expire July 1, 2015. "We love it here, more importantly. It's been a great change for us. When the time comes, if that's what Bryan wants to go with, to sit down and have conversations, we'll certainly do that."
On the other side of the equation: well, there's quite a bit. There are a few forces working against Ottawa here, though I suspect each can be mitigated.
One, Ottawa's not a Stanley Cup contender right now, or even close. The team looked to really be on the upswing one year ago and inching closer, but things fell apart in the 2013-2014 season. I'm not sure I'm ready to call this team a bad one just yet -- I wrote an awful lot about how fixable this club was, highly suspicious that the team was as bad as the one that played 82-games in 2013-2014.
The fact that Bobby Ryan can pick and choose a preferred market is a bit scary for this reason. If Ottawa can make a competitive offer along with six other teams, the club needs to hope that he simply likes playing in Ottawa more. I'm not sure it can sell being a winner in good faith right now. And if Ryan really prioritizes winning a Stanley Cup in the next couple of years -- well, tricky times for the team executives negotiating a potential deal.
Two, the general allure of unrestricted free agency. Bobby Ryan may very well prioritize signing with Ottawa from start to finish, but he
also just may want to see what else is out there. Unrestricted free agency is one of the biggest landmarks for established players -- it's their first real crack at getting top-dollar, and they can pick/choose where they want to do it in the event that they're a top-level talent. In Bobby Ryan's case, that's a very real concern.
Three, money. Ottawa's saved an awful lot of money over the last few years by avoiding spending to the cap (or anywhere close). And, as I said earlier, I don't see how Ottawa can't make a serious offer to the player here. I think they'll offer competitive dollar and hope that Ryan's sold on playing in the city.
But, can anyone guarantee that Ottawa's going to throw a bag of money at a player these days, based on what we have seen in the last eighteen or twenty-four months? I don't think so. It feels like they will, but the organization has stunned me before.
One wonders when this thing will come to a head. It's been eerily quiet on this front, but I imagine things will pick up as next season progresses -- particularly in lead-up to the trade deadline. If Ottawa can't extend Ryan by then, one wonders if they'll make him the big trade piece during deadline moves to land a nice haul of futures.
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Ottawa Senators Blogger • 
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