glad you guys are happy with this, i was sad to see him go, we wouldn't have won the cup without him. Sure he can lack compete level for stretches, and he can overestimate his ability to dangle through defenses, but his wrist shot is deadly, he's a good team guy, and he shows up when it matters. Enjoy him!
B's fan here, but most importantly a loyal Ryder follower since his Junior days as my family hails from Bonavista and I know him well enough to have had a few autographed kids jerseys sent my way at XMas time.
Him and Adam together in the dressing room will make for a great dynamic. Adam is overpaid at 2 Million as he's a 5th/6th defenseman. Hopefully he is able to stay healthy and grow into a 3rd/4th defenseman, and if so I'll be very happy for him.
Ryder's offense will likely improve in Dallas with increased responsibility and ice time, but at the same time he will have his defensive lapses. Ryder is very good on the back check when he is skating hard, but once the opposition is set up in the zone, Ryder isn't one to make the play to break down their offense. As well, it seems he doesn't always play motivated and when that happens, he doesn't skate hard and is invisible on the ice.
Boston has done well because they are such a deep team forcing Ryder to play on the 3rd line, but moving up to 2nd line when needed because of injuries or such. That is where he is probably best suited. Putting Ryder on the 1st line with your best playmaker will just force him to play against first line defense pairings where his job will be that much harder.
I'm certain that on the top line with Ribero, Ryder can put up 30g-30a-60pts. But that probably won't be enough to win a lot of games as his +/- will likely not be great (-10 to +10 at the end of the year).
Now if Dallas could have gotten another top 2 center that would probably change things.
Dallas feels like they already have another Top 6 center. He was absolutely dominate at times last year, but he is just turning 22. The organization has dumped a ton of pressure on him. It'll be interesting to see how he responds. They even started dumping Modano comparisons on him. I think he'll have a great season, but I just hope this isn't too much pressure too soon.
That would be fun to watch. Modano is one of my favorite all time players. Being in Eastern Canada, and a traditional fan of Eastern teams, i have a lot to learn about teams from the West.
That would be marvelous, as Lehtinen is probably the most complimentary winger they've ever put with the Morrow-Ribeiro pairing.
Of course, some of that was because Lehtinen was the best defensive forward on the team and would cover up for some of the, er, lapses of the other two, and Ryder will never replace that. But if he could take over the offensive end of things, it would certainly be nice.
Am I wrong for hoping Ryder not only replaces Lehtinen's offensive game, but exceeds it? I know he had many fine years, but whenever I think of Lehts, my first thought is never of what an offensive powerhouse he was.
Yea i agree with you, offense is never the first thing that pops into my head, but he did lead the team in goals a while back....I think that says a lot about those teams though.
Am I wrong for hoping Ryder not only replaces Lehtinen's offensive game, but exceeds it? I know he had many fine years, but whenever I think of Lehts, my first thought is never of what an offensive powerhouse he was.
Over Lehtinen's age 32 and age 33 seasons he scored a combined 59 goals. You can't get a perfect comparison to Ryder since Lehtinen's age 31 season was wasted by the lockout, but if Ryder scores the same amount over the span of this contract (his age 31 and 32 seasons) you have to consider it a big success.
These "Stars fans" coming out to bash these deals show they really aren't Stars fans. How anyone could view the Ryder deal as a bad thing is beyond me.
I didn't say it was bad signing; I said they overpaid for him at his age. I like Ryder personally.
Great player who disappears once in a while for a few games and gets under your skin by not showing up in games but when it counts especially in the playoffs he is one of those guys who takes his play to another level.
He has great stretches regular season too don't get me wrong on that but seems to find a way to get the healthy scratch once in a while. I am going to miss him bigtime.
He seems like a really good guy too. he hits hard and plays hard but clean.
Dallas feels like they already have another Top 6 center. He was absolutely dominate at times last year, but he is just turning 22. The organization has dumped a ton of pressure on him. It'll be interesting to see how he responds. They even started dumping Modano comparisons on him. I think he'll have a great season, but I just hope this isn't too much pressure too soon.
The only people making those comparisons about Benn are the chuckleheads on this board.
The only people making those comparisons about Benn are the chuckleheads on this board.
And a few broadcasters and hockey writers.
You've downplayed him at every turn but I can guarantee that if he were to get traded or leave via free agency at some point you will be there to chime in about how retarded management is, etc. etc. Your schtick is old. If you want over-the-top pessimism you should locate Fox News on your tv guide.
The only people making those comparisons about Benn are the chuckleheads on this board.
You saying that pretty much solidifies the fact you aren't a real Stars fan. You watch any non Stars broadcast, they rave about Benn, thats where the Modano comparisons came from. The comparisons have came from the Hockey media, who know a lot more than you.
I've been saying he's not a Stars fan in every trade proposal thread when he comes in and bashes the Stars players. It's sad he's still trying to trick everyone that he is indeed a Stars fan.
Well getting back to Ryder... He's new and all, but he's going to have a few of us facepalmin' on occasion. I've seen enough of him to know he doesn't always do the right thing with the puck. What I mean is he is our less talented version of Phil Kessel, fairly one dimensional shot first, passing? 'what I never learned to do that' kind of player. Just a warning, he's going to frustrate the hell out of some in short order as much as he hangs onto the puck and telegraphs exactly what he's doing. What I like about Ryder is he does get the puck to the net (where Morrow will be) and he doesn't just stick to the outside when he hogs the puck...he does drive the net well. I also like where he's from, no question he's another good character addition!
Yeah, keep telling yourself that.
