Ann 2UFA Watch: Michael Ryder - Gone With the Wind
May 16th 2008 23:38
Farewell, Ryder
Looking at this year's stats – 70 games played, 31 points (14 goals, 17 assists), - it is fair to say that Ryder hasn't had a good year; a pure goal scorer who didn't produce enough for the team. However, his disappointing season and his expecting departure from the team that drafted him is more a matter of circumstances than an issue with his performance (though that probably will also play a part in the Canadiens' decision). Indeed, last year Ryder finished the season with a /- rating of -25. In the summer, he and his linemates decided that for the coming year (2007-2008), they had to play better defensively. After all, Ryder's spot was secured, he was the only sniper on the team; if his line didn't score then the Habs were doomed to hell, or so everyone thought.
The 2007-2008 edition of the Montreal Canadiens were mainly carried by Alex Kovalev and his linemates – Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn. In Kostitsyn, the Habs found a future star with quick hands and fancy moves. The amazing production of this Eastern European line (Kovy is Russian, Kostitsyn, Belarussian, and Plekanec is Czech) was rewarded by more playing time than the Koivu line as well as the title of first line and first wave on the powerplay. With reduced playing time on the powerplay (a spot where he shined last year) and the will to be more defensive in 5-on-5 play, Ryder struggled to do what he could do best – score goals, and that's where things got worse. Since both Ryder and Higgins weren't perfoming well, effectively making the Canadiens' attack appear as a one-line offense, management decided to get help from the minors and along came Sergei Kostitsyn. Sergei was first put on the third line and instantly provided an offensive spark. His vision, and amazing playmaking abilities made everyone around him play better and it was okay for awhile. However, Ryder still wasn't producing, so Carbo decided to put Sergei on Koivu's line, moving Ryder further down the line-up. Sergei and Koivu found an instant chemistry and the Canadiens finally had some balance on the offense. Down in the third line, Ryder was vegetating, and was often declared an healthy scratch for long stretches of games. He was caught in a Catch-22. He needed more playing time to perform but he wasn't going to get playing time if he didn't perform. When he scored two goals and added an assist in the Habs miraculous comeback against the Rangers, everyone agreed that it was also Ryder's comeback. Alas, he never shined as much for the rest of the season, and, with no points awarded to him in the first round of the playoffs, he was scratched from the games' roster in the second round.
What Ryder needs right now is a team willing to give him a lot of playing on one of the team's top two lines. There is clearly no more space for him in Montreal. Even if there was, there are several players in the Habs' farm team (the Bulldogs) waiting for their chance to play in the NHL. His future coach has to keep his playing time constant even when he doesn't produce (something that Carbo didn't do) because Ryder is a streaky scorer, he'll go cold for 20 games and then get a point or more in the next fifteen, so what he needs the most is playing time, nothing more, nothing less. There are several teams in which I think he would fit right him; Calgary, Dallas and Boston are the first ones I can think of. There will also be several teams fighting for Marian Hossa, Ryder can be considered a nice addition for teams that won't be able to get the Slovak sniper. Among those teams, the New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins could be interested in Ryder as the second option. His salary of 3 millions/year looks a lot more appealing than Marian Hossa's probable 7 or 8 millions.
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