NHL Trade Rumors: Bobby Ryan Is Being Shopped; Rangers Have Inquired

Until today, the possibility of Bobby Ryan being traded was slim to none. This was partially due to the fact that General Manager Bob Murray previously hadn't felt the need to make a trade.

From the L.A. Times:

"

General Manager Bob Murray hasn't panicked. He has said he won't dismiss Carlyle and he hasn't traded any of his big three forwards — Getzlaf, Perry or Bobby Ryan — though he has had offers. 'Management has been so patient and that's what a team hopes. It's tough for everybody,' Selanne said.

"

However, it appears this stance may have changed.

During tonight's Sportsnet broadcast of the Edmonton Oilers vs. the Nashville Predators, Nick Kypreos said Ryan was being shopped after speaking with an NHL executive. Kypreos was also on Sportsnet last night, and speculating that Bruce Boudreau would be fired and Dale Hunter would replace him.

For those who didn't watch the intermission, a fellow Sportsnet analyst then tweeted this. 

@darenmillard Doing the oilers/predators game @RealKyper told by an nhl exec that ducks r shopping bobby ryan. Wow. 2 wins in 18.

This tweet from the Ducks is also very interesting.

@AnaheimDucks Anaheim Ducks  Carlyle on Bobby Ryan playing LW on line w/ Hagman & Maxwell: Hope to stimulate offense from 3rd line & spread skill around more." #NHLDucks

The question now becomes, who will make a trade for Ryan? Teams looking to upgrade their scoring may include the New York Rangers, Buffalo Sabres, Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Avalanche, and countless others.

Though the Rangers need scoring, I doubt they will make a move given their recent play. It would likely involve core players they refused to trade last year for Brad Richards.

Update: Larry Brooks of the New York Post sent these tweets out this afternoon.

@NYP_BrooksieLarry BrooksSource: Rangers have had preliminary talks with Anaheim about Bobby Ryan, level of interest, ability to make deal unclear...

@NYP_BrooksieLarry BrooksRe Rangers and Ryan: could be proverbial "tire-kicking," could be more, but NYR wouldn't deal Stepan or McDonagh, among those off limits

Toronto is always a hot spot for rumors, past scenarios involved Richards and Jason Spezza packing their bags at one point.

It seems unlikely that Ryan would get traded to any Western Conference team. The Ducks will probably look for secondary scoring because outside of Selanne, Getzlaf, Perry, Fowler, and Visnovsky, they lack scoring.

Take this rumor as you like, but Kypreos did break the Boudreau story and was the only one who mentioned Dale Hunter as a favored replacement.

Will the Ducks deal Ryan? What would be the asking price for the star left winger? 

Here are some Bobby Ryan quick stats.

* Age 24

* $5.1 Million Dollar Cap Hit

* Signed Through 2014-15 Season.

* 112 Career Goals

* 101 Assists

* 213 Points in 273 Games

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Tom Urtz Jr. is an NHL Featured Columnist and New York Rangers Featured Columnist. For NHL news, updates and alerts about players: