Ferraro: Ryan signals 'I'm not staying' to Senators

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Ray Ferraro was on TSN 1050 Wednesday afternoon.

On reports Bobby Ryan has turned down a seven-year offer from the Ottawa Senators worth around $7 million per season and what that says about his situation in Ottawa:

“Same thing it said about Thomas Vanek in the Island when he turned down seven times seven. It means ‘I’m not staying.’

“If you’re turning down $49 million – say you went on to free agency. What are you going to get? $51 million? What’s the difference at that point? If you like it there and you want to sign, you’re probably in the ballpark.

Also:

“So I don’t know that it says anything other than ‘I’m not sure I really want to commit myself for seven years here. So We’ll play along and see what happens.’”

On if it’s Bobby Ryan’s right to step back and see how things unfold moving forward:

“As they say, right? It’s just business. Let’s not fool ourselves and say it’s about the game or anything. It’s about business. You’ve got a short window of a career, a relatively short window, and if he’s not sure then he shouldn’t sign the contract.”

On if there should have been an agreement that this negotiation should not have become public:

“I don’t get that. I don’t get why stuff leaks...”

On how it’s unclear from the roster where the team will fall, how the Senators’ reputation has taken hits, and how it’s the owner that’s causing problems:

“There’s no question there’s not the cachet in Ottawa that there once was. There seems to be a little bit of kind of a ship at sea that doesn’t know where it’s headed. That’s kind of the look and what you hear a little bit about Ottawa.

“I’m with you Noodles. I think there’s some pieces of that team where you go ‘This team could be pretty good.’ And they have some really good young players that are right on the cusp. Like Curtis Lazar is an excellent young player. Like, not going to be just an in and out guy in your lineup. He’s going to be an excellent young player. Matt Puempel looks like he’s a guy who’s going to be able to score. You like their goaltending, as you mention. There’s lots of good pieces.

“But if Ryan doesn’t want to commit to this longer deal, then they probably have to look at going in a different direction with him. It’s all about, as we talked about with Ryan Johansen, it’s about the leverage that a player has at a certain time vs. the leverage that a team has at a certain time in the CBA.”

Source: TSN 1050/ Transcript: Nichols on Hockey