From the Penthouse to the Bruins’ Doghouse – Michael Ryder

One of three bruins to dress every game this season, Bruins’ winger Michael Ryder may have finally landed himself in the doghouse of the overly patient Bruins’ coach Claude Julien.  Prior to his departure from the Montreal Canadiens Ryder was a healthy scratch from the playoff series against the Bruins which saw the upstart B’s force the Habs to a 7^th game in a 1 vs. 8 Eastern Conference match-up in 2008. It was the same series that Julien sent a message to young Bruins’ forward Phil Kessel making him a healthy scratch in a critical part of the series.  Kessel returned with two clutch performances and seemingly received the message that talent and promise alone were not enough to earn a spot in Julien’s line-up.  In the subsequent off-season the Bruins made a move, most assume at Julien’s behest, to acquire Ryder as a sniper for the B’s attack.  Most fans drooled at the prospect of having double barreled snipers, Ryder and Kessel riding shotgun for Marc Savard.

The Ryder and Savard chemistry never materialized, but a spark was created with young centerman David Krejci and winger Blake Wheeler.  With zero pressure, the line took the NHL by storm and became a consistent and feared secondary scoring threat.  Ryder was tied for the NHL lead with 7 GWG’s and the streaky scorer seemed to catch fire when the B’s needed him most in 2009.  His resurgence under Julien left many to believe that Ryder was returning the favor of having his career pulled from the scrap heap by his former coach, and Julien, the master motivator, was able to pull something out of Ryder that others had failed to accomplish.

Enter this season, with the departure of Kessel there was certainly the expectation that Ryder would return to the 30 goal form that appeared to be his NHL destiny, and that 2^nd year winger Wheeler would continue to develop as well.  Having discarded the offensive threat Kessel,  it was understood by all that the “missing” goals would not come from the stick of a single player, but be spread among Ryder, Wheeler, Sturm in particular.  All three wingers have notably struggled, especially in the most dire stretch for the Bruins’ following the season ending hit delivered by Matt Cooke on Savard.

Since the Olympic break Krejci has been one of the best Bruins on the ice, skating with confidence and accepting of the necessity for him to shoulder the load as playmaker with the injury to Savard.  The failure of his linemates, Ryder and Wheeler, to join him in this surge has been notably absent, as has the scoring touch of Winter Classic hero Marco Sturm.  For the last two seasons Julien has preached accountability, and necessity of earning time on the special teams, as well as prized shifts in critical moments of games.  The plethora of injuries has hindered Julien’s ability to create competition for roster spots and playing time as evidenced by the fact Ryder and Wheeler have dressed every game this season.

I believe it is safe to say that if Ryder and Wheeler had performed similarly a year ago there would have been a louder and more direct message delivered by their teammates, and via Julien.  Following the Winter Classic slump there was talk of Ryder being on the trading block, but with a large contract and next to zero production there was explicably not a long list of takers.  Wheeler elevated his play in the month of January, seeming to relish the competition signaled by the arrival of Miro Satan.  However the lack of fan recognition of their short comings has been staggering.  I suppose there have been other things to distract fans from the lack of Ryder’s expected contributions, as many raced to train crosshairs on Dennis Wideman and Tim Thomas as scapegoats for the B’s being mired in mediocrity. Despite the haters choosing to focus on Thomas and Wideman, what has been bemoaned by many others is the painful reality the Bruins simply lack “finishers”.  What I believe to be more damaging is the Bruins’ lack COMMITTED finishers, and with his noted sniper’s touch the fact Ryder has dressed every game of the season for the Bruins while being worthy of appearing on the side of a Hood milk carton with the letters MISSING overhead is simply unfathomable.

So as we enter the final stretch of the season, having witnessed 5 shots from the Krejci, Ryder, Wheeler line on Thursday, all 5 coming from the stick of Krejci, the “playmaker”,  Julien has finally decided to shake-up the lines.  Is it a case of too little too late in the coach’s accountability department? It certainly has not been consistent with this season’s personnel management, but at last a return to what Julien had preached from his arrival.  Ryder has been demoted to compete for a spot on the “energy” line, head to head with Shawn Thornton.  My kingdom to see Thorts hit Ryder so hard that he woke up in 2008, or at least was made to realize that his effort and contribution to the team in their time of need is not worthy of wearing the sweater.  Ryder’s talent and ABILITY to contribute are undeniable; however his noted lack of fire and desire is beyond all comprehension.  It is high time that Julien utilize Krejci’s energy, vision, and skill set by putting him in a position to be successful with talented wingers who can feed off his energy instead of playing the role of spectator.  Sturm’s struggles have been significant, however slightly less characteristic.  For Sturm it appears to be less about effort and more about waning confidence and squeezing the stick a little too tightly.  Moving to the top line Milan Lucic has the ability to create room for Patrice Bergeron and Mark Recchi, additionally Lucic’s wrist shot has seen steady improvement in recent weeks.

I begged desperately for the lines to be shuffled following Savard’s injury, and again before last week’s stretch of crucial games.  Stripping Ryder of power play time has not sufficiently motivated him, and his brief benching against Calgary seemed to only have a temporary impact, leading to a solid outing against the NJ Devils, but something he was unwilling to sustain into the following game on Thursday.  I hope the reworking of the forward lines delivers a message to all Bruins that despite limited options, it is better to have lesser skilled players grinding for 60 minutes, than to have highly skilled players coasting, relying on others to put them in positions to be successful.  Desperate times call for desperate actions, and it is altogether unfortunate that a veteran like Ryder could not find it within himself to play with the hunger of getting to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and a chance at the second season.  There are players on “spoiler” teams who play with more personal pride and a higher level of professionalism than Ryder, with not a sprinkling of his skills.  If it had been Phil Kessel performing the way Ryder had this season there is little doubt that regardless of who the B’s had in Providence Kessel would have spent at least one game watching from Cam Neely’s elbow.  Ryder has been afforded plenty of opportunities to perform, and be accountable for his performance before simply running out of leash.  It is about time Julien showed him the doghouse.  For the Bruins’ sake, fans can only hope he will be sufficiently motivated by finally realizing he has let down the team that fished him off the scrap heap.

Unfortunately, in the long term, the acquisition of Ryder falls squarely at the feet of Julien and GM Peter Chiarelli.  Given the sizeable deal they bestowed upon Ryder, based solely on the gamble that Julien could coax Ryder to produce, the B’s will likely forfeit an opportunity to bolster their lineup in the off season.  The B’s need to find a player to complement Savard, and will be severely limited  in their ability pursue and sign a player the likes of the Habs Michael Cammalleri, far better suited for the rigors of playing in Boston than the invisible Michael Ryder.