Bobby Ryan has arrived back in the nation’s capital and is practicing with his teammates informally in preparation of the start of the 2014/15 NHL season.
It’s good news on a number of levels and they’re all pretty basic. On one hand, Ryan’s apparently been skating for a few weeks and is pain free following last season’s corrective surgery to repair his sports hernia injury. On the other, Ryan’s presence in Ottawa will hopefully bring about a resolution to the contract extension talks that have been ongoing since July.
In late August, Senators assistant general manager Pierre Dorion discussed the Ryan contract negotiations on TSN 1200 and didn’t “foresee anything happening until we think Bobby (Ryan) comes to town.”
It’s a situation that Ryan was very cognizant of when speaking with reporters for the first time since arriving back in town.
“I was looking forward to getting back here to getting more involved than I have been (in negotiations), but as far as I knew, every discussion has been amicable and there haven’t been any breakdowns or anything like that,” said Ryan, who spends most of his summer in relative isolation in Idaho. “Everybody is confident that we’re going to start going with (serious negotiations) when everyone is in town.”
As Ryan said, from all indications there’s no reason to believe that relationship between the player and the organization isn’t good.
From the moment that Ryan arrived in city, he’s done or said nothing to dissuade people from believing that he wants to stay. Sure, part of this is probably attributable to lip service, especially since he has one year left on his contract, a media savvy player like Ryan isn’t going to fan the flames and make himself a distraction. But to be fair to the player, maybe he enjoys playing a prominent role in a Canadian hockey market where he’s a fan favorite.
Does he enjoy it enough to pass up his first opportunity to test the unrestricted free agent market and handpick his next destination?
We’ll see.
Given Ryan’s skill and history of past production, as well as the opportunity cost that the Senators gave up to acquire him and the promotion of the trade following Alfie’s departure, a lot of attention will deservedly focus on Ryan’s future with the team.
The good news is that the Senators making a concerted effort to retain Ryan and they’re expressing optimism that a deal can be reached. Mind you, they’re in the entertainment business, so there’s absolutely no incentive or reason to say otherwise and I’d imagine they’ll exhaust the negotiation process before even considering having to move Ryan.
There’s definitely risk in holding onto Ryan or Marc Methot without an extension in place, given that either player could get hurt during the course of the season and sink their depreciating rental trade value further. Unfortunately for the Senators, such a situation probably wouldn’t help them in negotiations either. Barring some debilitating injury, these guys are going to get paid on the open market. The demand for a four-time 30 goal guy and a top-four defenceman will always be high.
The Hockey News Projection
It’s amazing how quickly perceptions can change in the sports world.
One year removed from being a dark horse sleeper pick to contend for a Stanley Cup, the Ottawa Senators find themselves at the bottom end of the spectrum this fall.
In their preseason preview, the The Hockey News projected the Senators to finish seventh in the Atlantic Division.
While the publication gives the Senators credit for having a good group of forwards, a solid goaltending tandem and Erik ‘freaking’ Karlsson, it cites the loss of Hemsky and Spezza, Paul MacLean’s player usage, pressures from ownership to make the playoffs, defensive zone issues, and questions whether or not Legwand/Zibanejad are second line centers as reasons why the Senators will miss the playoffs.
Frank Magazine vs Melnyk
Less than a week after Frank Magazine published an article speculating that Eugene Melnyk was bringing on Dan Greenberg as a partner – the rumour was refuted by both Melnyk and Greenberg – they’ve penned what essentially amounts to a hit piece on Melnyk using ad hominem attacks and recent history to discredit the Senators’ owner.
The article can be viewed on this Allen Panzeri tweet (seen below):
The Eugene Melnyk-Frank Magazine spat continues. Frank responds . . . pic.twitter.com/NWOEVCcZRm
— Allen Panzeri (@allenpanzeri2) September 3, 2014
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Alfie’s Future
According to the Windsor Star, former Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson is still uncertain as to whether he can continue his NHL career.
Alfredsson’s back problems have complicated his decision-making process. Although he’s practicing and it seems clear that he wants to return, he and the organization are unwilling to commit to anything provided that his back cannot hold up over the course of the season.
At this stage of his career, he does not want to be a part-time player who cannot be relied upon to play regularly.
Matt Kassian Still Looking for Work
Speaking of former Senators whose NHL careers are in doubt, Matt Kassian is back in Ottawa after playing some offseason games in Australia and he is looking to sign on with a NHL team.
Interestingly Bryan Murray indicated after the 2013/14 season that Kassian and the Senators were looking to go their separate ways since: a) Kassian’s simply not very good at hockey and not enough of a deterrent to justify wasting cash and a roster spot on; and b) Kassian was looking for more of an opportunity to play.
Well, it seems like Kassian’s take on returning to the Senators has changed since he’s simply not in high demand around the league – the only offers for his services to this point have been two-way contracts and invitations to training camp. Fortunately, it doesn’t sound like either of these offers have come from the Senators and hopefully it will remain that way.
Senators Tickets On Sale Today
As of 10 am this morning, the Senators have opened the box office and tickets are available for all of their regular season games.
What’s interesting about this season is that the Senators, in collaboration with the Red Scarf Union, have dedicated section (319) to provide a more European-styled cheering atmosphere.
For those who attended the inaugural Sens Summer Fan Fest, you already were briefed on the specifics of this plan, but for those of you who are unaware, Senators president Cyril Leeder talked about it during his interview on TSN 1200 yesterday.
“We are for sure and you can never please every body. Some people don’t like loud music, some people don’t think it’s loud enough, this is kind of an attempt to desensitize that and put it one location and allow the fans that want to be rowdy and have a good time more of a European hockey atmosphere. This is common in Europe. It’s been said that Djurgardens in Sweden have the best fans in the world and the reason is they’re standing and cheering the whole game. That’s not the North American style and I think if we tried to do that in our building we’d be disappointed with the results but we’re going to start with one section this year for 10 games. Our supporters in the Red Scarf Union are helping us with that and if people are interested in being part of those games and having a good time and bringing that European hockey mentality to Ottawa we encourage them to get in touch with the Red Scarf Union. We’ve given them access to tickets at a great price so they can pass those on to people and really have a great time in those sections. We hope to start that this year and build on it each year and if we can get one section really rocking then maybe next year we can expand that to two or more sections.”
The gist of the plan is that the RSU/Sens are doing a joint 10-game pilot to determine how successful this endeavour can be.
You can buy a ten-game pack that includes a ticket to all ten games, two preseason games (September 24th vs Toronto and October 3rd vs Montreal) for $400. At that price point, you would be saving $260 off the suggested gate price.
There’s also a five-game pack that costs $205 and allows you to pick two gold gams and three silver/bronze games. This package also includes tickets for the preseason games outlined above and comes at a savings of $125 off the suggested gate price. All information pertaining to which games you want to attend can be found here.
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