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Report: Bobby Ryan and Anaheim Ducks finally agree on a five year deal

Image (1) BobbyRyan3-thumb-250x375-16053-thumb-250x375-16054.jpg for post 15219

One of the most important restricted free agent haggling sessions looks like it is reportedly over. Various outlets report that the Anaheim Ducks and Bobby Ryan are about to agree on a big new deal, while Larry Brooks of the New York Post reports that the terms of the contract will be for five years at about $5.5 million per year (or five years, $27.5 million).

While this isn’t yet official, the contract seems like it would be an interesting (and reasonable) compromise between two sides that were justifiably in disagreement.

If you need your memory refreshed, the first stumbling block was that Bobby Ryan’s people wanted it to be three years long to allow him to cash in as much as possible on unrestricted free agency. The Ducks balked at three years because that contract would expire at the same time as the team’s other two power forwards, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. To say that would be a bottleneck is an understatement.

My guess is that Ryan accepted a later arrival into unrestricted free agency for a slightly larger payday than his older partners in crime. This will make Ryan their highest paid forward and second highest paid player overall behind defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky. The Ducks will probably send Brett Festerling or another depth player down to the minors and will be about $5 million under the cap if that $5.5 million annual cap hit is accurate.

Again, this isn’t official but it seems very close to being confirmed. It’s a fair deal for both sides if those financial details are true, so the Ducks, their fans and Ryan’s representatives can all breathe easy.