Bobby Ryan backtracks

Bobby Ryan's attempt to smooth things over with the Ducks may not be enough to keep him in Anaheim. (Photo by Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images)

Lyle Richardson
2012-09-10 11:26:00

More than two months after Anaheim Ducks right winger Bobby Ryan vented frustration over his name appearing in trade rumors, he is singing a different tune.

In a June 22 interview on with the Camden Courier-Post, Ryan’s hometown of Cherry Hill, N.J.’s newspaper, he said the Ducks had “shown me nothing to prove they want me here,” appearing to suggest he'd welcome a trade, perhaps to the Philadelphia Flyers, the club he idolized growing up.

Last week, however, Ryan told Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register he now regrets the Courier-Post interview, calling it “a mistake and a slip up on my part.”

Stephens reported neither Ryan nor his agent requested a trade, which the club confirmed. Still, his remarks stoked considerable trade speculation, including a rumor claiming the Flyers attempted to acquire him.

While Ryan expressed relief he wasn't dealt, Stephens noted GM Bob Murray hasn't commented on the winger's late June remarks, nor has he met with Ryan as he suggested he would do following the June draft weekend.

While Ryan's agent told Stephens he expects his client and Murray will eventually meet, the winger still isn't certain where he stands with management.

That uncertainty, combined with Murray's silence on the matter, will keep Ryan's name floating in the rumor mill, especially if the Ducks get off to another slow start.

COULD WEBER BE ONE AND DONE IN NASHVILLE?

The offer sheet for defenseman Shea Weber has been finalized into a contract.

On July 19, Weber agreed to a 14-year, $110 million offer sheet from the Philadelphia Flyers, which the Nashville Predators matched on July 24.

His agents claimed they would seek the addition of a no-movement or no-trade clause, but The Tennessean last week reported the new contract lacks those clauses.

Under CBA rules, Weber cannot be traded for one calendar year from the date he accepted the offer sheet. That ruling is expected to carry over into the next CBA.

Unhampered by a no-movement/trade clause, the Predators are free to shop Weber anywhere without his consent starting next summer. That's sparked suggestions in the hockey blogosphere the Predators could, if they find it Weber's contract too expensive to continue carrying, revisit trade discussions with the Flyers or ship him to another team.

Weber claimed he's happy to remain a Predator and put the stressful contract situation behind him and management claims he's a long-term part of the club's future.

ISLAND HOPPING?

Defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky is awaiting an arbiter's decision on his grievance challenging his trade to the New York Islanders from the Anaheim Ducks in June.

Visnovsky is seeking to void the deal on the grounds his no-trade clause was still valid and he was never asked permission to waive it to go to the Islanders. His grievance was heard last Tuesday and a decision is expected soon.

If the arbiter rules in Visnovsky's favor, the trade will be nullified and he returns to the Ducks.

Sean Leahy of the Puck Daddy blog noted the blueliner “has been saying the right things about the Islanders” since the trade. If Visnovsky's grievance is successful, Leahy wondered if the veteran blueliner might accept “a second (legal) trade” back to the Isles or opt to finish the final year of his contract with the Ducks. It could also push the Ducks to try to shop him to a club of his choosing, while sending the Islanders scrambling to find a suitable replacement via trade or free agency.

Rumor Roundup appears Monday-Friday only on thehockeynews.com. Lyle Richardson has been an NHL commentator since 1998 on his website, spectorshockey.net, and is a contributing writer for Eishockey News, Kukla's Korner and The Guardian, Charlottetown.