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“When I signed four years ago, there’s two guys left with (Craig Anderson and Zack Smith). You think you might have a group and then what you signed up for might not necessarily be what you get four years later. You never know so you always have that in the back of your mind.

“It’s human instinct to always think the grass is greener and you never know until you experience it.”

He added that players may like playing in a Canadian market, however, some may want less pressure or just want a change of scenery. Ryan made it clear he hadn’t spoke with Stone or Duchene about this, but noted they’re factors for every player going through this scenario.

Stone, Duchene and Dzingel also have the pressure of the Feb. 25 NHL trade deadline facing them. It’s just over a month away now and it’s quite possible the deals could begin for Dorion soon because a team may want to get ahead of the pack by making a deal early.

“They’re getting down to the nitty gritty where you have to make a hasty decision and you’re going to have weigh all your factors,” Ryan said.

Ryan has spent a lot of time talking with Dzingel about his situation because the two are close. Ideally, Ryan would like to see the trio remain here.

“Selfishly you want them all to stay,” he said. “But I wouldn’t go out of my way to put down another place to do it.”

He believes the Senators have a lot of the right pieces in place to turn this around and get back to respectability in fairly short order.

“If you’re a Sens’ fan you’ve got a lot to look forward to in a few years,” Ryan said. “Look at what Brady Tkachuk and (Colin) White have done. Look at the next tier with (Maxime Lajoie) and (Christian Wolanin). All those guys are establishing themselves as NHLers.