When Bobby Ryan plays in Anaheim tonight (8 p.m.) for the first time since being traded to the Ottawa Senators, he returns as the go-to scorer the Senators are thrilled to have.

The Senators have the player they expected to get when they made the major trade with Anaheim last summer. Ryan has four points on two goals and two assists in four games to lead Ottawa in scoring.

General manager Bryan Murray made the move after right wing Daniel Alfredsson surprised the team by signing with the Detroit Red Wings. Murray mitigated the public relations damage by acquiring a 26-year-old four-time, 30 goal-scoring winger to replace a 40-year-old legend whose best seasons were behind him.

It was a deal that Murray was thrilled to be able to make. We would expect Anaheim fans to give Ryan a sustained ovation tonight for the work he did in Anaheim. But here are the five reasons why the Ducks would certainly make that trade again.

1. Jakob Silfverberg (shown below in a preseason game), the key player coming back to Anaheim, has four goals in his first four games in an Anaheim sweater. He’s three years younger than Ryan.

2. The Ducks improved their short-term cap position with the deal. Silfverberg could score as often as Ryan in 2013-14 and he’s still on his entry level contract paying him $833,000. Ryan makes $5.1 million this season and next. The Ducks are only about $2 million or so under the cap. If the Ducks kept Ryan, they would have had to move another veteran or two.

3. General manager Bob Murray negotiated a bountiful return. In addition to Silfverberg, the Ducks received Stefan Noesen, 20, a skilled forward and former first-round draft pick. The Ducks also get Ottawa’s first-round pick next summer, which should be a mid-round pick, ahead of their own pick.

4. The Ryan trade rumors seemed like a distraction. We’ve been hearing them for three years. Whenever the Ducks looked like they needed to make a move, Ryan’s name came up. Players always say they ignore rumors, but that’s easier said than done. It seemed as if the Ducks have been open to move Ryan for a while. It was time to pull the trigger.

5. Freshening the roster can re-energize a team. The Ducks had a disappointing playoff loss to Detroit last spring, and they didn’t have much cap space to make an offseason race. This move sends the message to fans and players that the Ducks plan to be aggressive to stay a Stanley Cup contender

It should be a lively crowd tonight in Anaheim because it is a retro night with Ducks players wearing replicas of the Mighty Ducks uniforms. Goalie Viktor Fasth will even wear a mask design patterned after the design Guy Hebert wore in the Mighty Ducks days.

Prediction: Although we blew the Colorado-Washington call Saturday, we accurately predicted St. Louis and San Jose would stay unbeaten. That makes us 5-1 in forecasting the winners in our big games. We’ve got Anaheim winning 3-1 tonight with Silfverberg scoring for the Ducks.

Other NHL items to ponder today: Natural order has returned to the NHL with Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (hat trick last night) back atop the league’s scoring race. He will remain on top today unless Jeff Skinner (Carolina Hurricanes) or Tomas Fleishmann (Florida Panthers) or Dustin Byfuglien (Winnipeg Jets) or Tobias Enstrom (Winnipeg) have four points. … Get ready for Tuesday’s Showdown of Unbeatens when the San Jose Sharks play at St. Louis (NBC Sports Network, 8 p.m., ET). The other unbeaten, Colorado, also doesn’t play until Tuesday when it is home to face Dallas.

Your games today

Phoenix at Carolina, 1 p.m.

Los Angeles at Florida, 3 p.m

New Jersey at Winnipeg, 8 p.m.

Ottawa at Anaheim, 8 p.m.

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