

Coaches and Players wanting to "keep things in house" is nothing new to hockey or the media. Certainly, both Coach Boucher and Bobby Ryan have been tight lipped regarding this situation.

I actually applaud both sides for keeping it quiet, since both sides feel they have nothing to gain by making any more information public.

A big part of me wants to just swallow this pill, and say "Alright, that's behind them - onwards and upwards!". However, the unanswered questions remain.

With no more facts likely to surface regarding this ordeal, speculation is bound to run rampant.

Here's my, very small, attempt to help fuel said speculation...

What if Boucher and Ryan's refusal to discuss the situation comes as an order from higher up? What if Pierre Dorion has asked all parties involved to stay tight-lipped? Not only to protect the room, but to cover-up a larger secret?

My Theory: Bobby Ryan agreed to a trade destination. Dorion had worked out the details. Ryan was scratched from the lineup as he was on his way out. All that stopped the trade from becoming reality was a failed physical.

Ryan has clearly taken on a reduced role under Coach Boucher (min's per game down about 2:00 from last year, and further reduced from two season ago)

Coach Boucher publicly stated that Ryan has been playing through injuries all season, and even said that for a time "Bobby was simply unable to shoot" [A hand/wrist injury may not be so noticeable to the fans watching the games, yet still enough to fail a team mandated physical]

GMPD has stated that he is actively seeking a trade for forward help, while shipping Ryan out may not make sense in that regard (as you'd be removing a forward from the group you already feel is "thin") - it doesn't take a lot of scouring of the Senators lineup to see that we don't have a lot of move-able parts for a trade

- it doesn't take a lot of scouring of the Senators lineup to see that we don't have a lot of move-able parts for a trade A lot of the Hockey Media the past few weeks has been focused on the WJC (rightfully so!) - and this type of trade would certainly be best executed "behind closed doors". One of those NHL teams that has been traditionally tight-lipped regarding trades: The New Jersey Devils [we all know BR is a Cherry Hill, NJ native]

I'm probably 100% "out to lunch" on this one... but something about this situation just doesn't pass the smell test for me.





Any thoughts on this scenario's potential validity? If they did move Ryan, what could the Sens reasonably expect as a return? With so few teams out of the playoff hunt - what are Dorion's chances of trading for a quality forward at this point of the season?





Please, share your thoughts below - and, as always, Go Sens Go!