Ottawa Senators: Will Bobby Ryan Return to Form?

This topic is one that will cause much debate amongst Senators fans, as Bobby Ryan was a broken leg away from a complete bust last year. For a guy making $7.25 Million we all expected more than 18 goals from the teams so-called “Top goal scorer”.

I’ll admit I was pretty hyped when after Daniel Alfredsson left for Detroit, Bryan Murray was able to bring in a legit goal scorer like Ryan. Like most Ottawa Senators fans I suspected that Ryan would easily hit the 25 goal plateau and perhaps push those numbers past 30. But after two seasons of 23 and 18 goals respectively it is no wonder people are talking about Ryan being nothing more than the Senators next Danny Heatley, just with less goals.

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Every guy in the NHL wants to play their best, and wants to be recognized as a star on their team. Ryan is no exception and he knows the pressure is on him this coming year. The Senators made great strides this past season, and that was with Ryan playing below his standards. Murray and company have probably had the conversation with Ryan regarding what this team could have/can be when he is playing at the top of his potential which is most likely the type of encouragement Ryan needs.

Let’s not forget this guy is a formal four time 30 goal scorer, not an easy feat in todays NHL. He also played some decent hockey at the beginning of the year, and has a pretty solid highlight package that should remind us that Bobby Ryan is still a legitimate goal scorer.

For Ryan to have a productive year the Senators may be best to find him a new line mate. While playing with Mika Zibanejad and Mike Hoffman, Ryan rarely had the puck on his stick in front of the net. Now this isn’t a bass on Hoffman, but he will never be the guy to go into the corners and battle for the puck.

Ryan will need a line mate that will do the dirty work for him, and retrieve the puck. Zbad does a pretty good job at this but for the majority of the season it was Ryan who was in the corners.

Another area that could improve Ryan’s overall production might be his addition to the first powerplay unit. I am all for spreading the wealth of goal scoring over the two lines, but Ryan would probably benefit from guys like Kyle Turris and Mark Stone passing him the puck.

Ryan needs guys who like to pass the puck who aren’t named Zibanejad. Perhaps Coach Dave Cameron will give Ryan some time on the top line and see if he can get the goal scorer on a hot streak early in the season.

Ryan also needs to take the intiative and have confidence in his own ability. It was evident in the second half of the season that Ryan had lost something, the confidence to score. It’s pretty obvious that Ryan struggling and gripping the stick a little to hard near the end of the season.

Although he never made excuses regarding his low production numbers it was not hard to see that it had gotten to him. He would do himself some good by focusing on his mental game during the off season to get himself in the right mind frame going into training camp.

The best thing that could happen for Ryan’s success next year would be for him to get on the score sheet early and often. A great start to the season would do wonders to elevate Ryans confidence, and as we are all well when a goal scorer is riding high on confidence the rest of the league should watch out.

Now I don’t expect Ryan to come out guns blazing this year and hit the 50 goal mark although I wouldn’t mind it either. but I do expect him to have a very stellar season, one that resembles those early years in Anaheim where he scored 30+ goals in four straight seasons.

Next: Mika Zibanejad: Best & Worst Case Scenarios Next Season