Ottawa Senators: Bobby Ryan is Quietly Putting Together a Solid Season
He may be overpaid, but Bobby Ryan is becoming one of the more consistent players for the Ottawa Senators.
When Bobby Ryan signed a 7-year, $50.75 million contract with the Ottawa Senators, a few eyebrows were raised.
Yes, teams always overpay in free agency, but $7.25 million per year for a player whose career high in points at the time was (And still is) 71 seemed a little steep. Ryan’s contract has hand-cuffed the team on a few occasions and is almost unmovable without retaining salary or watering down a possible return in a trade.
But with eyes off of him this year, Ryan has shown that, when healthy, he can be a solid producer for the Senators, especially on the power play.
A Solid Rebound
Ryan has yet to play a full season for the Senators, with several seasons being cut down due to injuries (Mainly due to problems with his hands). His last two seasons saw him play 62 games in both years, scoring just 25 points in 2016-17 and 33 points in 2017-18. This year Ryan is already on pace to have his highest point total since 2015-16.
The 31-year old winger has put up 31 points in 48 games, including 12 points in his last 15 games. The main reason for this has been Ryan’s health, he has missed just four games this year compared to 20 from last year. 11 of his points have come on the man-advantage, placing him third on the team in power play points. In fact his possession on the man-advantage also deserves mention, with Ryan putting up a solid 9.7% relative
If Ryan can keep up this pace he will have seventh 50-plus point season of his career. That kind of production may nor warrant an AAV of $7.25 million, but it’s a nice turnaround for a player who was in the conversation of multiple trades last year.
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Please Stay Healthy
As Ryan has shown this year, when healthy he can be a solid scorer on the wing. The Ottawa Senators have seen an improvement in offense this year and Ryan’s production is an important part of it. Just two points shy of his total from last year, Ryan’s season may not be the size of Mark Stone’s or Matt Duchene’s, but it’s still a solid year in its own right.