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| The Bruins were forced to say good-bye to one of their postseason heros Friday afternoon when word surfaced that Michael Ryder had signed a two-year, $7 million deal with the Dallas Stars. |
However, supporters of the Black and Gold were served a harsh dose of reality Friday afternoon with the official start of free agency, the NHL's symbolic turning of the page from one season to the next.
With many clubs looking to capitalize on the open market and re-tool their rosters in pursuit of a championship, Bruins fans can't help but find themselves wishing they could pause time and keep their championship winning team together forever.
However, in sports as in life, all good things must come to an end.
The Bruins learned this the hard way Friday afternoon when word surfaced that postseason hero and ultra-talented sniper Michael Ryder had left Boston to sign a two-year, $7 million with the Dallas Stars.
On the surface, the loss of Ryder doesn't seem very devastating. After all, he was a third line winger who never seemed to replicate his impressive first year in Boston.
After signing a three-year, $12 million deal with the Bruins prior to the 2008 season, Ryder scored 27 goals and added 26 assists in his inaugural campaign.
However, in 2009-10, Ryder's production dipped to just 18 goals and 15 assists. Last season, Ryder potted just 18 regular season goals and dished out only 23 assists.
In three years, Ryder scored 63 regular season goals for the Bruins, hardly worthy of his $4 million per year price tag.
However, despite having mediocre regular season stats, Ryder was consistently one of the Bruins best postseason players during his stay.
In the 2008-09 postseason in which the Bruins lost a devastating Game 7 in the second round against Carolina, Ryder recorded 13 points in 11 games.
Then, during last season's championship winning postseason, Ryder scored 8 goals and added 9 assists, good for 17 total points in 25 games.
The 31-year-old winger will always be remembered for his remarkable glove save against Tomas Plekanec in Game 5 of the opening round series vs. Montreal.
"You know what, in the three years we had him, he was really good in the postseason," said GM Peter Chiarelli of Ryder. "So that's going to be an area I hope that the group will, I talked about leadership earlier, the group inheriting some responsibility if we don't bring in someone else. "
While the loss of Ryder will be difficult to make up for, on the ice and in the locker room, Chiarelli went on to sign 25-year-old winger Benoit Pouliot later in the day to a one-year, $1.1 million deal.
Formerly of the hated Canadiens, Pouliot scored 13 goals and added 17 assists last season for Montreal.
He is also a 6'3'', big bodied left wing who could end up replacing Ryder. A former 4th overall pick by Minnesota in 2005, Poulliot possesses a wealth of talent but has never seemed to put it together.
The Bruins are hoping that Claude Julien and Co. can develop Pouliot into the impact type-of player he was always thought to be.
"Pouliot is a player that was drafted quite high and this would be his third team," explained Chiarelli. "We like his skill, we like his size, we think he'd fit in with our team. He's got a good shot off the wing, he's still young, we feel he'll develop, and we were happy to get him at that number."
While the exchange of Pouliot for Ryder can hardly be considered an equal trade, the Bruins are banking of the former Canadien to finally reach his potential. If so, he could be a great under the radar pick-up.
However, as this point in time, Bruins fans can't help but shake their heads at the departure of Ryder, a battle-tested warrior whose signature snap shot scored countless pivotal goals in the postseason.
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