Montreal Canadiens: The Future of Micheal Ryder

So, what is the status of Michael Ryder?

Is he injured, a healthy scratch, or does Guy Carbonneau just plain ole not like him?  Whatever it is, I'm sure we'll hear all about it after this post season run that Montreal is on right now.

As a fan of the Habs, I hope that his future is long with the organization.  He is really going to turn out to be a great player in the years to come, and even though this year wasn't a breakout season for him, as they say: there's always next year.

The one problem I felt he had this year was that he lacked the confidence to score.

Shooting the puck was not the first thing on his mind in comparision to the last two years (where he scored 30+ goals) and not playing full-time with Saku Koivu and Christopher Higgins on the first line was also a big deal.

For a player with first-line potential, being put on the third line and sometimes fourth line is not going to help the confidence—especially when that could be his problem in the first place.

I personally think that Guy wants to cut the relationship, move Ryder out of Montreal, and try to pick up what they can for him in the offseason. 

That's not a new concept to the Habs though, as they've done swung that type of a deal in the past that's seen the outgoing player rebound—just look at former Canadien Mike Ribeiro. Dallas is raking in the dividends of that deal with Montreal, as he leads his new team in points and is on a tear in the playoffs. 

In the end, if Montreal does get rid of Ryder, it'll just be another move they come to regret.

I think if the man is given the chance to prove himself, play him with top-line talent, and play him in the playoffs instead of making him a healthy scratch (that is, if that's the case), then he'll flourish once again.

If those things were to happen in the next few weeks with the Canadiens, then perhaps they could revitalize Michael Ryder—give him some confidence and I'm sure that he will prove that he is worth it, and could end up having a long and healthy career with Montreal if the experiment works.

So what is the future of Ryder? Who knows?

Only time will tell, but personally I say keep him, he will be a great help to the team, the fans and the organization as a whole.

Thanks for reading.

Ryan Gillis