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The Ottawa Senators had a tumultuous past two seasons. After first losing the longest reigning Sens player Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza forced his way out the door one year later. That same offseason, they made a major trade to bring in Bobby Ryan from the Anaheim Ducks. They spent a big price, sending prized prospect Jakob Silfverberg in the deal, but they felt like they brought the future of their franchise.
Ryan did not immediately become the superstar many in Canada’s capital would have hoped. He was only a 50-point player the first season, despite coming in with 75 point upside. Now that he didn’t have to share points with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, many thought he would be able to score in bunches.
Bobby Ryan hasn’t lost any of his talent, he just lost his confidence. He also had some terrible luck last season. He was able to get off 221 shots, but only 8 percent hit the back of the net. That is by far his career low, the first time he didn’t hit double digits. If he hit his shooting average for his career, he would have had 28 goals last season.
Now that the world isn’t breathing down his neck, he can finally focus on hockey. He has a full offseason to work with his new coach. Ryan can take a look back at what happened down the stretch last season, where he scored one goal in the final 20 games. He can look at what went right when he scored two goals in a Game 5 win against the rival Montreal Canadiens. The ability to have an offseason where all he had to worry about was getting better will do just that. He doesn’t have to worry about getting used to a new system. He doesn’t have to move from California to Canada. There is no USA hockey camp he has to tryout with. He is an NHL player, and that is it. Slipping under the radar is perfect for him to turn it around.
Nick Villano is the NHL feature writer for RantSports. He also adds to the site’s NBA, MLB and NFL content. You can follow him on Twitter or add him to your Google circle.
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