Whoever said you cant come home again must not have known the career of Michael Ryder. Ryder was acquired on Monday by the Colorado Avalanche along with a couple of late round picks for Chad Larose, Evgeny Grachev and minor league d man Jordan Henry. The deal marks the third tour of duty for Ryder in Denver.
Ryder played last season with the Avalanche before being dealt to Ottawa in a multi player transaction and then a few weeks later was re-acquired by Colorado. Then this past summer in an effort to get cheaper and younger he was dealt to Minnesota for a package of prospects.
"At the time we dealt Ryder to become cap compliant" states GM Kellett "We really never wanted to deal him but as happens in this sport quite often salary gets in the way sometimes. We are very pleased to be able to bring a quality player like Ryder back to the fold and envision a top two RW pairing next season of Versteeg/Ryder. It allows us to have some depth and some different options going forward."
For the moment it is expected that Ryder will play LW on the top line with Versteeg and Stoll just to get through the season where he will switch to his familiar RW for next year.
"Im not really sure what is next, i feel ive had a decent season so far and going back to Colorado is a great opportunity to play some serious minutes. Its unfourtunate that i wont have a shot at making the playoffs this season, but i understand this team is being built for next season now. Of any team that i could have been traded to im glad it ends up being Colorado, they have always treated me well and believed in my abilities."
Ryder is expecte to make his (re) debut on Wednesday when the Avalancxhe take on the Buffalo Sabres.
Submit A Comment - |
![]() |