
Ryder/By S. Bradley
Although this season’s supposed to be Michael Ryder’s swan song with the Bruins, his play down to this point and down the stretch could open the door for a Causeway Street encore.
With his goal and assist in the Bruins’ 3-2 win at Edmonton tonight, the veteran right winger ran his season totals to 17 goals and 36 points – most of which have been scored skating on Boston’s third line about 15 minutes a night.
Ryder’s not going to match the 27 goals he scored in his first season with Boston two years ago, but he’s now only one shy of his total for all of last season. At his current pace, he’ll score around 22 goals and total about 47 points, which would make him exactly the type of third-liner a team that relies on four lines like the Bruins needs to back its stifling defense with enough offense.
Are Ryder’s projected totals worthy of a $4 million cap hit? Of course not. But at a more reasonable cap hit in the $2-2.5 million range, Ryder could continue his continue to pull on a black-and-gold sweater.
Of course, there’s a lot of hockey left to be played. And I just don’t mean the final 20 games of the regular season. How Boston fares in the postseason will determine the fate of not just Ryder and other players, but the coaching staff and front-office personnel as well.
At the very least, Ryder has guaranteed there should be a place for him somewhere in the NHL next season, in Boston or elsewhere. That wasn’t exactly the case last summer, when he was coming off his 18-goal season (a nine-goal drop from the previous year) and seemed a prime candidate for a salary-dump trade or buyout by the Bruins. It wasn’t just the lack of production that was disappointing about Ryder’s 2009-10 season, it was the way he went about his business. He was rarely a factor in other areas of the game, and even admitted he found sources of motivation lacking during the regular season. Slightly more inspired in the postseason, he scored four goals in 13 games.
Whether it was his playoff performance or something else that convinced them, the Bruins brought back Ryder this season and took a gamble that playing in the final year of his three-year contract would bring on a Ryder renaissance. Well, the Bruins have been mostly right to retain Ryder’s services.
He’s still far too streaky for the cash he brings in and to be relied upon. His goal tonight snapped a seven-game drought. There have been a few other empty weeks throughout the season. While he was more active and even recorded three assists during his recent goal-less stretch, there have been other slumps during which he’s done an uncanny Invisible Man impersonation. So much of Ryder’s game is built around a confidence that seemingly deserts him quicker than it does other players. When he’s believing in himself and scoring goals around the net with the patience to keep the puck on his stick under pressure, though, he can bring a dimension to the Bruins that they lack otherwise.
There’s a chance now that Ryder’s combination with newcomers Rich Peverley and Chris Kelly will become this season’s answer to the ’08-09 third line of Ryder, David Krejci and Blake Wheeler. Peverley scored his game-winning goal tonight on the back end of a give-and-go with Ryder that showed three games might’ve been all that line needed to forge some magical chemistry. And like Krejci and Wheeler two years ago, Peverley and Kelly’s defensive instincts and energy seem to be rubbing off on Ryder as well.
It’s funny that after Ryder’s first year in Boston, general manager Peter Chiarelli’s decision to sign the Newfoundland native seemed like a solid purchase. Then turned into a disaster just a season later. Now Chiarelli’s still overpaying, but he’s getting exactly the type of player Ryder is – not as great as he looked two years ago nor as awful as he played last season.
With Brad Marchand due for a raise this summer as a restricted free agent, the Bruins are going to have to reallocate some cash among their forward corps. Peverley, Kelly, Shawn Thornton, Daniel Paille and Gregory Campbell are all signed through next season, so the Bruins have plenty of veterans inked for their bottom six. Prospects Jordan Caron, Max Sauve and Jamie Arniel, in addition to others, should be ready to seriously compete for NHL playing time by next fall as well.
All these factors might make Ryder expendable. But he’s expressed a desire to stay with the Bruins to this blog a couple times the last couple months. If he keeps up his current playing pace, he’s going to make it hard for them to cut him loose.
I Like the upside of Souve, he is a really fast, quick (can you say Marchand) skill guy who has proven he can finish. I think a line with him, Peverly and a more experienced, older, next year Seguin is an intriguing 3rd line. While a 4th line with Campbell, Kelly and Thorton might be the best shutdown line in the NHL.
Pat is completely on target: Ryder is the JD Drew of the Bruins. Both seem to possess a ton of talent, but often come off as if they don’t very much care to be pro athletes. And neither player is making an appropriate salary based on their past performance or current level of play. JD is a hell of a lot more likely to retire than he is to resign with the Sox, but Ryder might be brought back at a reduced rate if Savard is still off the cap. I don’t see either returning, but Ryder is still within the realm of possibility.
lets see how the post season goes but if he continues to contribute and they can work a deal then why not bring him back, he’s a team guy
Ryder and Savard are not going to play for the Bruins next year. I’m saving any possibility of rah-rahing Ryder until I see him skate around with a huge cup in his hands and a bear on his shirt. he had a great game, but he sucks way too hard for way too long between spurts. he can go, ASAFP, but I hope he’ll continue to be “motivated” until he departs. he sure is capable of decent play, but he is also the only minus player on the team. if there were a few (like, say, the rest of his usual line or something), that would not be as telling about the individual, but Ryder is the only negative on an awesomely positive team.
Signing Michael Ryder to another contract just doesn’t make any sense to me… none. As for the reason the Bruins brought him back this season, well, it’s not like there were a ton of worthwhile options on the table for Chiarelli (eat his contract getting nothing in return, parting with valuable youth/picks to clear cap, or taking on another unpleasant contract). It’s nice that he hasn’t been as bad as last year, but, as others have pointed out, we have investments that NEED to be made (Kabs/Marchand) and we have youth that will need Ryder’s minutes. Especially if Savvy returns, which is a massive question mark.
Marchand and Kaberle to get signed with only 6.3Mil to go around. PC needs to wait to see if Ryder’s 2nd round playoff performances improve. He is known for disappearing but the last two years in the 2nd round abysmal.
does chia get a discount for ryder man loving claude? i could see $2.5m.
The conversation about Ryder sounds a lot like the conversation about J.D. Drew. He isn’t a bad player but is overpaid and disappears for periods of time.
You gotta think that his money coming off the books is Savards coming back in. He has played well this year, but dont see him around… especially if Caron and Sauve are ready to make the jump
The thing is, we DONT have ryder’s money next year. that money is coming from the expiration of Kaberle’s, Recchi’s, Ryder’s and Marchand’s deals. We added more than was reasonable to sign for next season without an increase in the salary cap, and assuming Savard is back next year, we have $6m to fill three roster spots (if we still want to carry 13 forwards).
I’m not a Ryder hater – he does tend to turn it up a notch in big games, and we’ll see what he brings during the playoffs. But Regardless – I think the Bs need to find out a little more what they have in all these youngsters. Sauve, Caron, Knight, Spooner and Seguin should all be fighting for minutes next year. We can’t keep 5 guys stacked up. Half of Ryder’s money will be needed for Kaberle and Marchand.. the rest should go toward exploring our kids.
I don’t quite feel the same about Ryder as many of the other readers. After last season, I wouldn’t have held onto him for $2m. That said, I would take him at about $1.5m for the next season. If he’s not on board, we should give the job to a rookie. In all likeliness, Recchi is in his final season and the other unsigned players on the team are Marchand, Kaberle, and Ryder. Now assuming Marc will be back next season, that gives us about $6m in cap space. With Sauve or Caron, we take a hit of $1.1m and Arneil is about $500k. Say we take Caron on, that gives us $4.9m left to spend on Kaberle and Marchand. if you were to pay Ryder $2m, we would have $4m to resign Marchand AND kaberle; something I’d like to avoid doing. So assuming Savvy is back next year, and there is no cap increase, Ryder will not be back next year. And we might have cap issues otherwise too.
All the numbers are from capgeek.com
It’s nice to see some people have Ryder down to a tee.Especially Jim. I have a hard time beating the guy up knowing he’s had some family issues that would affect anyone. Streaky could desribe a lot of players and Ryder is one of them. If he’s ok by Julien he’s ok by me.
Sign him to a one year deal, to keep him in “contract year” mode. I’ve really liked his play all season, which makes last year all that more frustrating. Unfortunatley, it seems that without that dangling carrot, if things don’t go his way, he’s more than likely to go into the tank.
There is no question that Ryder is a streaky player. At his best he is strong on his feet, a decent skater, understands Julien’s system and has a very dangerous shot. I’d bring him back with the understanding that there will be stretches in the regular season that Ryder disappears.
Never had a problem with hm, just his salary and the inflated expectations that came with it.
I was three rows up in the Oilers end when Ryder scored tonight. Watching him I find myself in agreement with you Matt. If he signs at a reasonable rate… keep him. He was working it tonight! Nice to see this Ryder again.