The Ottawa Senators are coming off a very disappointing 2013-2014 campaign. While expectations were elevated at the end of a remarkable 2013 postseason run that saw the Senators go into the second round, the team failed to even make the postseason this past year.
In what was supposed to be the third year of a three-year rebuild, the Senators finished 11th in the Eastern Conference with 88 points. The Senators lost longtime Captain, Daniel Alfredsson before the start of last season which paved the way for Jason Spezza to step in and try to fill some pretty big shoes.
Hours after the news that Alfredsson went to Detroit, the Senators answered with the trade acquisition of scoring winger, Bobby Ryan. This move made the Senators fanbase hopeful of yet another postseason run, and some Stanley Cup contention legitimacy.
Ottawa failed to make the postseason, and had a rough offseason. Jason Spezza and Ales Hemsky fled to Dallas leaving the Senators offense with a very large offensive void. Two very important core players will be playing on expiring contracts this upcoming season, and the Senators have had a ton of trouble coming to agreements on contract extensions. Marc Methot and Bobby Ryan are the two players Ottawa will be monitoring very closely this upcoming season.
While, reports say that the Senators and Methot are relatively 'in the ballpark', one hopes the two sides can strike a deal rather soon than later. On the other hand, Bobby Ryan has decided to let the season play out before resuming talks. This is not good news for Ottawa as he can still put the puck in the net and has become a fan favorite in Ottawa.
The question becomes, should Ottawa consider trading Bobby Ryan rather than risk losing him to costless agency? There is much argument that the Senators should continue to rebuild and continue to develop their prospects. However, how far can you get with those young players?
There is no hiding that the Senators do not have the funds to re-sign all their players while signing big name costless agents. They haven't in years, and they certainly can't now. The NHL has become a league in which teams need to spend in order to put themselves in position to win. This isn't always the case (i.e. 2011-2012 Ottawa Senators), but more times than not, it is.
Is Bobby Ryan worth an long-term extension? If the Senators traded their scoring winger, there is no question that contenders will bid for his services, and the Senators would receive a pretty modest return. However, keeping Ryan may be in Ottawa's best interest; not present term, but thinking in the future.
Advanced statistics do a great job in explaining certain player characteristics and their impact on their teammates. This statistic we will look at will deal is called CorsiRel. This statistic is a direct compasison of team performance when the player is on the ice vs. off the ice. It measures the shots directed at the net while a player is on the ice vs. the shots that are directed towards the opponent's net.
That being said, let's take a look at the CorsiRel for Ottawa forwards last season who played more than 70 games:
<img alt="" src="httsee, Bobby Ryan struggled a bit in this category ranking tenth in this select group. However, it should be noted that Ryan was playing injured most of the season as he dealt with a sports hernia since mid-November, and granted he wasn't a good fit with most of the lines he was with throughout the season. That being said, there was some light towards the end of the season when head coach, Paul MacLean gave Bobby Ryan the green light to play alongside arguably Ottawa's best line last season of Kyle Turris, Clarke MacArthur, and Bobby Ryan himself. Ryan's numbers weren't all that impressive, but his two linemates' stats were. With Spezza and Hemsky out of the picture, Ryan has more chances to not only redeem himself, but to go back to the player that Ottawa envisioned when he was acquired. </p> <p>Will an extension handcuff the Senators for years to come? Perhaps, but eventually Ottawa is going to have to take out their wallets whether it's on Bobby Ryan or someone else. The truth is, Bobby Ryan is Ottawa's most talented offensive winger and trading him will only bring you back to step one. </p> <p>Re-sign Bobby Ryan, keep this team competitive rather than rebuild year after year, and preserve Karlsson's years in his prime. </p> <p>All we know is that last time we checked, a healthy Bobby Ryan placed on a good line(which he will be this season) is pretty darn good.</p>
