New Jersey Devils Should Consider Bobby Ryan Salary Dump Trade

The New Jersey Devils still have some cap space despite their offseason spending spree. One player that might be intriguing to acquire is Bobby Ryan. Not for what he can bring to the team, but for the assets he could leave behind.

The Ottawa Senators now have a major Bobby Ryan problem. They’ve had a lot of Bobby Ryan problems over the years since he signed a seven-year, $50.75 million deal back before 2015. In his first season under the contract, he had 56 points. Since then, he’s steadily lost value.

Then, things hit a whole new level when he was forced to enter the NHL player assist program which helps players with a multitude of issues including substance abuse. Most of the time when a player enters the program, it never becomes public information. This time is different because Ryan is taking a leave of absence from the team.

Now, trading a player right after he joined such a program is a low move, but this might be in the best interest of Ryan. Things haven’t worked out in Ottawa, but Ryan is from New Jersey (he was born in Cherry Hill and grew up in Collingswood). Maybe it could be good for him to come back home.

This is to say, if Ryan wants to be there. New Jersey was full of bad memories, and was where his father was extradited to after he was arrested. Really, read Bobby Ryan’s story, it’s awful what he went through, and a testament that he got to where he is right now. Bobby Ryan wasn’t even his given name at birth. So a move to New Jersey has to be a full circle thing for him, even if he was a Philadelphia Flyers fan growing up (gross).

Now that we’ve established that trading Ryan to New Jersey would be only for his benefit and his only, why would the Devils even consider this? He’s 32 years old, way past his prime, and clearly is working through something. Making him then move his entire life hundreds of miles away would not bring in a better hockey player.

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For a guy who has already gone through so much, change may be the best thing for him. Another player who probably needs a change of scenery as much as anyone is Cory Schneider. Schneider was sent down to Binghamton on Monday after a promising preseason did not turn into results in the regular season. The Senators don’t need a goalie, obviously, but this would save them a little money.

So, the Senators would save $1.25 million in cap space over the next two seasons if they made this deal straight up. Obviously, the Devils would ask for a little something to throw in just to counteract those prices. Maybe it’s something like a 4th-round pick. Either way, we know the Senators are always looking to save actual dollars on contracts. In actual money, this saves the Sens $1.5 million.

Also, Bobby Ryan has a better chance of turning his career around and becoming a 40-point player once again. That’s not worth $7.25 million, but it’s definitely worth something. With the loss of Schneider’s contract, eating Ryan’s wouldn’t be half bad.

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Then, there’s the buyout. If the Devils bought Ryan out after the season, he would cost them $3.58 million the next two years, then $1.83 million two years after that. That would give the Devils a drop in price right before they have to sign Jack Hughes to his second contract. It’s actually a really good system, and would actually cost less in those years than a Schneider buyout.

Schneider has a no-trade clause, as does Ryan, so everyone would have to be on board. However, we don’t see either team doing this if the other side wasn’t on board. It could be a great change of scenery play for both sides, but they have to see it that way for it to be a successful transaction. If not, then it’s best for everyone involved to skip it.

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