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Senators waive Bobby Ryan for purposes of a buyout

bobby ryan buyout

OTTAWA, ON - OCTOBER 25: Bobby Ryan #9 of the Ottawa Senators leaves the ice after warm up prior to a game against the New York Islanders at Canadian Tire Centre on October 25, 2019 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Matt Zambonin/NHLI via Getty Images)

NHLI via Getty Images

The Senators have placed Bobby Ryan on waivers for the purpose of buying out the remainder of his contract.

Ryan came to Ottawa via trade from the Ducks during the 2013 off-season. The 33-year-old forward played 455 games with the Senators, scoring 107 goals and recording 266 points.

Friday marks the opening of the NHL’s first buyout window. It will run through Oct. 8 at 5 p.m. ET.

Buying out the final two years of Ryan’s contract will spread across Ottawa’s cap for the next four seasons. According to CapFriendly, the Senators will have a $3,583,333M cap hit for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 NHL seasons and then a $1,833,333M hit for 2022-23 and 2023-24.

This move will save the Senators $3.67M. GM Pierre Dorion will have plenty of money to spend in free agency in a few weeks, or perhaps take on a bad contract or two if there’s sweetener involved.

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Ryan was a four-time 30-goal scorer while in Anaheim but his offense took a dip over his final seasons in Ottawa. He netted 23 in his first year there and then 22 in 2015-16, but he never reached 20 goals again. This past season he took a leave of absence from the Senators to deal with an alcohol problem. He returned in February and recorded an emotional hat trick in his first home game back.

For his efforts, Ryan was awarded the 2019-20 Masterton Trophy by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

Dorion is in makeover mode and his recent moves show he’s preparing for the future. Mark Borowiecki and goaltender Craig Anderson were told they won’t be back, and now Ryan will be gone as well. A youth movement is in place and will be helped by the team owning nine picks in the opening three rounds of the upcoming draft.

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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.