Bobby Ryan signed a one-year contract worth $1.000 million with the Detroit Red Wings on Friday as the National Hockey League’s free agency market kicked things off after noon Eastern Time.
The reigning Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy winner and native of Cherry Hill, New Jersey joins the Red Wings as his third NHL club after amassing 555 points (254 goals, 301 assists) in 833 career games with the Anaheim Ducks and Ottawa Senators since making his league debut in the 2007-08 season with Anaheim.
Ryan was originally drafted by Anaheim in the first round (2nd overall) of the 2005 NHL Draft and had 5-3–8 totals in 24 games for the Senators in 2019-20 after missing most of the year due to a four-month leave of absence from Ottawa to enter the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program.
He scored a hat trick in his first game back with the Sens in his first home game since returning to the lineup on Feb. 27th.
Detroit is in the midst of rebuilding and setting themselves up for returning to playoff contention in the near future, so signing Ryan to a short “prove it” deal is beneficial for both sides.
The Red Wings can focus on improving in general, while Ryan can focus on finding his game as a bottom-six forward– unless he’s able to turn back the clock and regain his scoring touch as a four-time 30-goal scorer from 2008-12.
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