Another New Jersey native will be available to the New Jersey Devils this offseason.
Every time someone from New Jersey becomes available, or even if they don’t become available, New Jersey Devils fans will say there is a chance that player will “return home”. We did it with John Carlson, Johnny Gaudreau, James van Riemsdyk, and now it’s happening again with Bobby Ryan. It actually worked out with Kyle Palmieri.
Ryan was placed on waivers by the Ottawa Senators with the intention to buy him out. He is the only player so far that is getting bought out of his contract. It adds a surprising free agent to the pool. Was Bobby Ryan worth more than $7 million per season? No. Is he worth a shot to redeem his career? Absolutely.
After his hiatus to work on some personal issues this season, Ryan was decent in his return for a floundering Senators team. He obviously had that hat trick against the Vancouver Canucks, but he scored another goal right before the quarantine against the Los Angeles Kings. He was playing more than 15 minutes a night after missing hockey for three months. That’s still impressive.
Obviously, there are demons for Bobby Ryan in New Jersey. His journey is insane, so there isn’t this tie bringing him back like others who lived in the Garden State. His family actually fled New Jersey. His father was on the run from the law. Look at this TSN profile of it. The story is crazy.
More from Pucks and Pitchforks
- Should New Jersey Devils Try Load Management With Vitek Vanecek?
- New Jersey Devils Will Prove That Last Year Wasn’t A Fluke
- New Jersey Devils: Luke Hughes’ Playmaking Will Outshine His Mistakes
- New Jersey Devils: Chase Stillman’s Performance Causes Concern
- Can Devils Fans Separate Zach Parise Heartbreak From Achievements?
According to the profile, he was forced to live a double life. They ran to Canada, and eventually, California. The family was trying to juggle avoiding an attempted murder charge after a domestic violence incident between his parents and allowing their son to achieve his hockey dreams. Four years ago, his mother passed away from liver cancer. Ryan is only 33 years old, but he’s had a life’s worth of tragedy. However, tragedy doesn’t have to define Ryan.
This could be why Ryan would still consider a return to New Jersey. This isn’t some redemption story or fighting his demons by returning “home”. This is showing nothing is going to stop him from joining the right situation.
The Devils and Ryan are a very intriguing connection. The Devils need veterans on the wings. Right now, it might be Jesper Boqvist or Joey Anderson forced to play one of the top-six wing positions. Ryan would be intriguing to get a shot there. He might be better suited to play with Travis Zajac, who’s been known to knock talented players out of slumps.
Another intriguing option for Ryan and the Devils is Ken Daneyko. Daneyko also won the Bill Masterton Award after his bout with alcoholism in 2000. He’s still struggled with it after his career ended, but he appears to be living his best life now as a Devils’ broadcaster. Having someone who can be such an inspiration to him and someone who he can turn to whenever he has issues who’s battled those same demons could be really good for him.
The Devils young centers are looking for someone who can score. We’re years away from a 30-goal scoring Bobby Ryan, but asking him to get the Devils 15-20 is not out of the question. In the eight games after his return, he had four goals. Even in a 70-game season, that’s a 35-goal pace. He can’t stay on that pace at this stage of his career, but he can still contribute in the right situation. Taking passes from Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Zajac, or even Pavel Zacha would be a great situation for Ryan.