Senators waive Bobby Ryan less than three weeks after he wins Masterton Trophy

OTTAWA – Veteran forward Bobby Ryan was placed on waivers by the Ottawa Senators on Friday for the purpose of a buyout.

Ryan won the Masterton Trophy, the NHL’s award for perseverance, on Sept. 7 after publicly sharing his battle with alcohol issues.

The 33-year-old Ryan entered the NHL/NHL Players’ Assistance program on Nov. 20 to get help for his addiction issues.

Ryan has two years left on his contract at a US$7.25 million cap hit and was owed $15 million in real cash.

Buying out his contract will save the Senators $3.67 million in cap space in each of the next two seasons, but add a cap charge of $1.83 million in each of the following two years.

Ryan had five goals and eight points in 24 games for Ottawa this season.

He had 254 goals and 301 assists over 883 games in 13 NHL seasons split between the Anaheim Ducks and Ottawa.

Anaheim drafted Ryan second overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 25, 2020.