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Ryan frustrated by persistent trade rumors

Bobby Ryan

With seven goals since the Christmas break, Anaheim forward Bobby Ryan wishes his name would stop popping up in trade speculation. (For Bobby Ryan trade speculation, click here and here!)

But seriously, he’s pretty upset.

“It’s frustrating because I think my play over the past 10 games has been good enough to where they should cease a little bit and there should be some protection there,” said Ryan, as per the Orange County Register.

“It’s the nature of the business I guess. We’re still a team that’s (12) points out of the playoffs. We didn’t have a good first half and set ourselves so far behind the eight-ball.”

You can understand Ryan’s frustration, though to be fair to all the good and respectable trade rumor-mongers, the speculation isn’t restricted to his last 10 games. There’s a bigger picture. If the Ducks want to retain the services of Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry for the long run, they might have to make some tough budget decisions.

Ryan would be an extremely valuable commodity on the trade market because 1) he’s a 24-year-old that’s already scored 30-plus goals three times, and 2) he’s signed until 2015 at a manageable $5.1 million cap hit.

Ryan could feasibly provide a superior return to Getzlaf or Perry, each of whom is only signed until the end of the next season. Therefore, a team would have no guarantee of keeping Getzlaf or Perry past 2012-13 if it rolled the dice on a trade. Not to mention, they’d command a far higher salary than Ryan’s being paid once their contracts expired.

Of course, there’s also good reason for the Ducks to hold on to Ryan. To repeat: 1) he’s a 24-year-old that’s already scored 30-plus goals three times, and 2) he’s signed until 2015 at a manageable $5.1 million cap hit.

And given Teemu Selanne is 41 with no guarantee he’ll keep playing past this season and Saku Koivu, 37, a pending UFA, why would Anaheim trade away an offensive talent like Ryan? Especially if he’s getting along with his new coach better than he reportedly did with his old coach.