Ottawa Senators expected to buyout Masterton Trophy winner Bobby Ryan
The Ottawa Senators are reportedly parting ways with Bobby Ryan.
A few weeks ago, Bobby Ryan of the Ottawa Senators won the Masterton Trophy. He overcame a never-ending battle with addiction to return to the Senators this season and serves as an inspiration to many people. Now, Ryan is going to be looking for his next team.
According to Darren Dreger, the Senators are expected to buyout their Masterton Trophy winner. Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun confirmed Dreger’s report.
Ryan had two years left on his contract with a $7.25 million annual cap hit. Buying him out will be fairly expensive for the Senators. Though it will save them $3,666,667 in each of the next two seasons, it will also cost them $1,833,333 for each of the next four seasons.
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He will carry a $3,583,333 cap hit for the next two seasons (2020-21 and 2021-22). After that, Ryan will have a $1,833,333 during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. This season, Ryan had eight points in 24 games. In 833 regular season games, he has 254 goals and 555 points.
What’s Next For The Senators
Buying out Ryan right now doesn’t make too much sense. They certainly weren’t close to the cap ceiling and this actually makes them further away from the cap floor. Even before buying out Ryan, the Senators were over $18 million below the salary cap floor. This will take them to over $21 million below the cap floor.
Also, the Senators now only have three forwards under contract for next season – Colin White, Artem Anisimov, and Brady Tkachuk. They have a lot of restricted free agents, including Connor Brown, Anthony Duclair, and Chris Tierney.
None of their RFAs are expected to get much money. So unless the Senators are going to spend lavishly in free agency or target someone with an offer sheet, I don’t get why they’re buying out Ryan now. He’s still a fairly useful forward and the Senators will have a bunch of young players next season. Ryan would have been a nice mentor for them.
What’s Next For Bobby Ryan
Bobby Ryan will hit the free agent market for the first time in his career. He’ll be getting paid $3,833,333 per season for the next two seasons and $1,833,333 per season for the following two seasons after that. This means Ryan will likely be willing to take a bit of a discount should he decide to keep playing.
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At 33 years old, he’s still got enough left in the tank to play in the NHL. However, Ryan’s personal health is what’s important right now. He’s struggling with a horrible disease – addiction. It’s a never-ending battle. You never stop fighting addiction. It doesn’t go away. Should Ryan decide to continue playing in the NHL, it’ll be interesting to see where he winds up playing.