RYAN TRADE HAS FUELLED DUCKS’ QUEST FOR THE CUP
Silfverberg has been a revelation on offence and Ritchie’s two tallies have been huge
Some trades never go away.
It doesn’t matter how much time has passed or how much turnover the roster has undergone, players are forever linked to the team that gave up on them and the person who they swapped places with.
So it was not surprising that Jakob Silfverberg was watching as the Ottawa Senators’ Bobby Ryan picked up an assist and scored the overtime winner in Game 1 against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. After all, it was four years ago that Silfverberg was traded — along with prospect Stefan Noesen and a first-round pick, which was used to select Nick Ritchie — from the Senators to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Ryan.
“You always try to look at what other teams are doing,” Silfverberg said. “I was watching the game a little bit last night and (Ryan) made two great plays. I don’t like comparing myself to other players — I don’t think that’s fair to anyone — but he’s having a really good post-season too and I’m happy for him.”
Four years later, the trade is working out well for both teams.
While Ryan has had his ups and downs with Ottawa — he only scored 25 points this season — he is earning his US$7.25-million salary in the playoffs, with five goals and 11 points in 13 games.
Silfverberg has also been playing his best hockey in the spring, with eight goals and 12 points in 12 games.
Silfverberg, who scored a career-best 23 goals and 49 points in the regular season, credited his recent success to “puck luck.” Shots that didn’t go in earlier in the year are finding the back of the net, as was the case in Game 1 when a fluttering wrist shot snuck over Nashville Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne’s glove hand for a goal.
“It was a little bit of a lucky bounce for me,” Silfverberg said.
“I wouldn’t say everything goes in, but I always try to take that extra shot. Even if it doesn’t go in for me, it sometimes creates some havoc and maybe you’ll get a rebound. I’ve always been a shooting-first kind of guy.”
The big change, according to head coach Randy Carlyle, is Silfverberg is taking the initiative.
Silfverberg, who has a quick and accurate release, has always left coaches wanting more out of him offensively. Criticized for his slow starts in the past — Carlyle once called the 26-year-old “a November player” — he was told last summer that if he wanted to play on a line with Ryan Kesler, he would have to become more of a consistent scorer.
“That was the message last summer,” Carlyle said. “‘Silvy, we can’t wait for you to catch fire. If you’re going to play with our group, the offence that’s required, playing on the (Ryan) Kesler line is going to have to be something ramped up.’”
Silfverberg bought in, leading the team with 227 shots this season. He headed into Game 2 leading the entire playoffs with 51 shots.
“I like my time here and hopefully (Ryan’s) having a good time in Ottawa too,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll see him in the final.”
You usually have to wait two to three years before determining the success of a first-round draft pick. The wait can be even longer for power forwards, whose bodies need to mature to play a physical game in the NHL.
But Ritchie, whom the Ducks selected 10th overall in 2014, is intent on shaving some time off that. The six-foot-two, 232-pound forward was called up for 33 games last season, scoring two goals and four points.
It was a wake-up call, said the 21-year-old, who not only spent the summer getting stronger but also worked with a power skating coach to become faster.
Though he only has two goals in the playoffs, both have been big ones. Ritchie scored in an 5-4 overtime win against the Calgary Flames in the first round and then had the winner in Game 7 against the Edmonton Oilers.
“It was more about understanding the work that was going to be required during the off-season,” Carlyle said. “He’s going to have to follow up on that … to become what we believe is a pretty good power forward.”
This year, Ritchie finished second on the team in hits. But the major growth in his game came offensively — he scored 14 goals and 28 points in 77 games.
“Obviously, getting that taste last year was huge and it translates over to this year,” Ritchie said. “Playing a full season and getting into playoff action has been great for me. Now that we’re in the conference final, there’s no better way to learn than getting deep in the playoffs.”