The Athletic’s Ian Mendes spoke with Red Wings forward Bobby Ryan about his time in Ottawa and his strong start with Detroit for an article posted this morning. Ryan tells Mendes that he doesn’t believe that he would have had the same kind of start he’s had in Detroit had he not been bought out by Ottawa…
“I was thinking about it the other day. Personally, I think the fresh start was welcome. There’s just an excitement that feels different than Ottawa,” Ryan told The Athletic Show Hockey Podcast on Monday. “I just don’t think I would have the same buzz that I have now about playing the game going back to Ottawa. There was just too much there in the past. I don’t think it would have translated this way for me there.”
Despite the significant pay cut — he signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Red Wings when free agency opened — it’s clear that Ryan’s new surroundings in Detroit have invigorated him in a way that never could have happened if he stayed on Ottawa’s roster.
“I don’t think I could have gotten the excitement back to go back there,” he said. “It just wasn’t going to work.”
But Ryan admits this as well:
“There is part of me that wanted to go back (to Ottawa) and do it the right way, like I am now. Not only sober, but correctly — as a professional,” Ryan said. “But it’s hard to argue with that ending.”
Continued (paywall)
