Ryder mum on contract talks

[Spider-Man NL]

It’s reasonable to assume contract negotiations have reached a critical stage when the cone of silence descends.

In that case, the Montreal Canadiens might be getting close to finalizing a deal with restricted free agent forward Michael Ryder.

“My agent has told me it’s better if I don’t say anything,” said Ryder, the 25-year-old Bonavista native who is represented by Toronto-based Thane Campbell.

“So right now, I can’t talk about what’s going on.”

The Canadiens signed captain Saku Koivu Monday, leaving Ryder, goaltender Jose Theodore and defenceman Andrei Markov as the only remaining restricted free agents among the Habs’ core group of players.

Ryder had 25 goals and 38 assists in 81 games in 2003-04, his first season in Montreal, and he was runner-up to Boston Bruins’ goaltender Andrew Raycroft in the race for the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie-of-the-year.

Million-dollar rumour?

Given that, you can expect, Campbell will be looking for the Canadiens to pay Ryder at least as much as — and maybe more than — the $1 million US Trent Hunter will receive from the New York Islanders next season.

That’s the amount Hunter, who finished third behind Raycroft and Ryder in the 2004 Calder Cup race, recently received in a one-year free-agent deal.

Ryder, who played in Sweden during the NHL lockout, isn’t the only Newfoundlander dealing with free agency: Daniel Cleary was let go by the Phoenix Coyotes, who didn’t tender him a qualifying offer.

The Toronto Maple Leafs chose not to exercise an option on Harold Druken’s contract, although Druken is said to have received another offer from the Leafs and similar ones from four other NHL teams; and John Slaney, who won a Calder Cup with the AHL’s Philadelphia Phantoms last season, is an unrestricted free agent, but has been negotiating a deal to return to the Flyers’ organization.

While Ryder is remaining silent about contract negotiations, he did comment on a rumour that had the Canadiens shipping him and Theodore to the Florida Panthers in exchange for goaltender Roberto Luongo.

“When people asked me about it, all I could say was ‘It’s news to me,’” Ryder said.

“I have no idea where that came from. But that sort of stuff happens all the time and I just don’t pay any attention to it.”

The rumour is believed to have started on Quebec radio and then spread to other media. However, a Florida official says his team hasn’t held any talks about trading Luongo to Montreal.

‘’I can honestly say it’s a flat no,’’ Panthers’ director of hockey operations Jack Birch told the Miami Herald. “That’s a total fabrication.’’

bmcc@thetelegram.com

<img src=http://www.nhl.com/image-upload/ryder020504_canadiens_celebrates.jpg>

[Edited on 2005/8/17 by Spider-Man NL]

[shortcat1]

I know that to pay someone an 'equal' salary for 'equal' value is a commonly used consideration. I just don't believe it's necessarily appropriate.

In this case, to say that Ryder should get at least the same money as Hunter is poor reasoning. It may be that he finished higher than Hunter in the rookie of the year competition and finished with more points than Hunter but there are other factors to take into account to decide what to offer as a salary to a player.

What if the players that accompanied Hunter were less talented than those accompanying Ryder? That would affect the points outcome. It very well could be that Hunter is a better player.

Also, what if the Islanders overpaid Hunter - gave him too much for his 'real worth'. Should the Canadiens follow suit? I think not.

In any case, I'm certainly not for or against the 'proposed' salary demands. It's just that I hope that proper reasoning will carry the day and that Ryder gets paid what he really should be paid (as subjective a value decision as that is).

By the way, I think your avatar is great! :/)

[Edited on 2005/8/17 by shortcat1]

[Tony_]

Ryder should have taken his qualifying offer last year before the lockout.

As far as Hunter getting the big bucks, this might be Millbury continuing his insanity signings or maybe he realized he needs to do everything to sign players who will be the future of this team.

You know he messed up when he traded players like Jokinen, Luongo and Bertuzzi to other teams back in the day. I wonder what his reasoning process was.

[shortcat1]

Tony, I wonder even more that he's still the GM of that team. In some other teams, he'd have been given his train ticket a long time ago.

Oh well, maybe for the owner of the Islanders, this team is a tax shelter where he can claim losses to bring down his overall tax base. Other than that, it could be misguidedness or disinterest.

[Edited on 2005/8/18 by shortcat1]

[greener88]

Originally posted by Tony

Ryder should have taken his qualifying offer last year before the lockout.

How much was his qualifying offer? like half a mil? thats way too low

word down here is he got an offer for 1.5 to play in sweden again this year, so I can't see him signing with mtl for less than 1 mil

[kaos]

Originally posted by Tony

You know he messed up when he traded players like Jokinen, Luongo and Bertuzzi to other teams back in the day. I wonder what his reasoning process was.

God and those wern't even his bad deals

What about Yashin for 2nd overall pick (Spezza) and Zdeno Chara?

That is absolutley the worst trade I have ever seen.

I actually believe the Islander will never recover from that trade, atleast not until Mike Milbury is fired.

As for Ryder. COnsidering the cloak of secrecy around the talks right now I'm sure their close to a deal, as there's usually quiet before the storm.

[Trizzak]

Originally posted by greener88

Originally posted by Tony

Ryder should have taken his qualifying offer last year before the lockout.

How much was his qualifying offer? like half a mil? thats way too low

Agreed. He over produced last year for what he was paid. That alone is reason enough to give him a Ribiero-like contract for one year.

[Natural Mystic]

I would like to see him sign for a longer contract, maybe 2-3 years. Ryder is the real deal and I hope he signs for longer than a year.

[Tony_]

If I remember right his qualifying offer was in the range of 700 000 - 800 000 a season. Not bad if you ask me under the new CBA.

[Colin]

Two things:

1. As to Mad Mike on the Island, remember that much of his nickname came about because of some of the nutty things he did on the Island a few years back, before Kumar and Wang bought the team. That was when the Islanders had the worst and cheapest owner in hockey. They were restricted to a pathetically low salary cap back then. Now, since then he's also made some bizarro moves, but nothing like what he did so long ago. Yashin remains his only real blunder since the new ownership came in.

2. Everytime I see the heading for this thread all I can think is Lindros. Remember when he was drafted and his mom told him what to do and where to go? Fans in every rink made fun of his mother. So when I read Ryder mum on contract talks... *laughs* What? Ryder's mum is in on the contract talks? What??

And I think that puts me to post 100.

Colin

[shortcat1]

Interestingly, Guy, the same thing happened to me. When I read the title of this thread, I went into the page looking for what his mom had to say about the contract. I was disappointed to see that 'she' wasn't there. :?- I figured it must have been an error or a misprint.

It was only later that it came to me that 'mum' meant didn't say anything.

By the way, how does one become a 'HW Collaborator' with only 100 posts. I thought that at 100 a member only made the AHL level. In the rating system, I see nothing about 'HW Collaborator'. The only level after that is 'Hall of Fame' at 1000 posts.

I'm just curious green, that's all.

[Edited on 2005/8/19 by shortcat1]

[Zowpeb]

I believe collaborator means he helps with the site in some way...possibly writing, or on the tech side...just my guess.

I would like it though if someone could fix my avatar which seems to no longer work...for reasons I don't know.

[Edited on 2005/8/19 by Zowpeb]

[Colin]

I've been a writer for the site for quite a while. Mostly article pieces, but there's a fair bit that I've done that was for the player profiles.

No way I'm a contributor for posts. That's almost laughable. ;-)

Colim

[alexstream]

Originally posted by Zowpeb

I would like it though if someone could fix my avatar which seems to no longer work...for reasons I don't know.

it must be because the website it's on is no longer available.

use image shack

[By-Tor]

For those of you wondering about Ryder here is the latest from Fourth Period .com

August 19, 2005

Ryder wants deal done

TheFourthPeriod.com

Michael Ryder, the Canadiens top rookie of the 2003-04 season, hopes to have a deal with Montreal done in the near future.

TFP has learned that the native of Bonavista, Newfoundland, has a one-year deal on the table, but would prefer to ink a multi-year pact.

Ryder, 25, scored 25 goals and added 38 assists for 63 points in 81 games with the Habs during the '03-04 campaign.

According to La Presse, Ryder is currently asking for a one-year, $1.15 million deal, but the Habs would prefer to lock him up to a two-year contract.

While there is no immediate urgency to get a deal done, Ryder and his agent Thane Campbell would like the matter to be dealt with prior to the start of training camp.

"Michael does not want (negotiations to go that far)," Campbell told La Press. "He likes Montreal, he likes to play for coach Claude Julien and he likes the fans. He wants to reach an agreement with the team, but there is nothing done at the moment.

"I will try to speak with (Habs GM) Bob Gainey soon and we'll see what we can do."

[shortcat1]

More media fluff, in a way, but good news nevertheless. I trust that he will resign. The two-year thing would be nice but we'll see.

:ghg::ghg::ghg:

[Tony_]

Nice to hear Ryder wants a long-term deal.

[BTH]

Does anyone know how close we are to signing him?

And same thing for Theo.

And it doesn't look like BG started negotiating with Markov yet.

[habscout]

I found a reference to Ryder's negotiations this morning on a non-Habs website that may explain the delay in Ryder signing with the Habs. Apparently, the Penguins forward Ryan Malone is also a RFA, and his agent is looking for a contract at around what Trent Hunter was signed for, which would be a $500K increase to just over $1M per season. Malone's agent compared his client to players like Hunter, Ryder & Henrik Zetterberg, in terms of production in the 2003-04 season.

Now, I believe that all 3 agents for these clients are trying to negotiate a contract similar to what Hunter has now, and that's why the negotiations have dragged out for all of them. Considering the worth of each of these players to their respective teams, I think that $1M contracts are reasonable, but of course each team's cap status varies.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-re...e/s_367183.html

[Tony_]

Someone should remain these agents of something I like to call the "Mike Milbury stupid move of the day" factor.

Doesn't mean this guy [Milbury] messed up that all the other guys deserve more or as much as Hunter.