The winger has missed the past three weeks with a broken finger, and head coach Guy Boucher envisions the formation of a new dynamic duo upon Ryan's return.
"If we're able to have Duchene and Bobby work, we can end up with two first lines," Boucher said, per Ian Mendes of TSN. "That would be a one-two punch that the top teams have."
Ryan had been skating on the top line with Derick Brassard and Mark Stone prior to the injury, but here's the new-look top six based on Wednesday's practice lines:
Mike Hoffman - Derick Brassard - Mark Stone
Ryan Dzingel - Matt Duchene - Bobby Ryan
Ryan recorded six assists and 12 shots in eight games to begin the season.
There’s no right way to end a professional hockey career.
This is true even for those whose path ultimately leads to the Hockey Hall of Fame, after achieving the highest levels of success.
Two of this year’s inductees were presented with the rare, perhaps romanticized opportunity to leave the game as a Stanley Cup champion after their respective teams prevailed in a winner-take-all Game 7.
But as one made an immediate decision to hang up the skates, the timing wasn't quite right for the other.
Sendoff was Bruin
Since 2001, three players who appeared in over 1,000 regular-season games opted to step away from the NHL upon winning a Game 7 in the Cup Final (according to Katie Strang, then of ESPN): Ray Bourque with the Colorado Avalanche (2001), Ken Daneyko with the New Jersey Devils (2003), and Mark Recchi with the Boston Bruins (2011).
It’s the latter who’s one of four former NHL forwards being honored as a 2017 inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame, and who confirmed his retirement in an interview with NBC's Pierre McGuire during the on-ice aftermath of an emotional victory over the Canucks in Vancouver.
Recchi knew the time was right, and would have made the same call had the Bruins lost.
"I pretty much had my mind set," Recchi told theScore. "I called (former Bruin) Shawn Thornton the night before and told him it was going to be my last game the next day, so I pretty much had my mind made up.
"It was a long run, I played 110 games I think that year - something like that. I was 43. It would have taken a lot to get to where I needed to be in September. I think mentally I was at a point where I wouldn't have been able to do it."
The Cup win was the third of Recchi's career, having previously won with Pittsburgh (1991) and Carolina (2006).
Victory lap delayed
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
Another 2017 inductee had a chance to go out on the same note and add his name to the list above, but ultimately decided to keep playing.
Dave Andreychuk didn’t have to wait as long as Bourque for his first taste from the Cup, but came pretty close. The former Tampa Bay captain reached 1,597 regular-season games before finally winning with the Lightning in 2004 - while the legendary defenseman appeared in 1,612 before getting his.
At age 40, no one would have questioned Andreychuk for calling it quits in that moment, but instead, he chose to give it another go with the Lightning, even after - or perhaps especially because - the season following the Cup win was wiped away due to a lockout.
"(It was) unfortunate for us in '05, really," he said. "We were hurt the most of any team (by the lockout), or any city. We didn't get our victory lap. We were all signed and ready to come back to battle, to get to another Stanley Cup. We didn't go to the White House. There's a lot of things that hurt us. The momentum that we created in Tampa, with all the young kids - they had never seen a two-month playoff drive before. That all kind of went away in '05."
His return lasted 42 games, during which he added six goals to the 634 previously amassed. It ended after being placed on waivers by then general manager Jay Feaster, who according to the CBC, said, "After giving ourselves half a season to evaluate and analyze, it became clear to us that David's game was not suited to the new NHL."
Andreychuk does not regret giving it another go. The regret, he says, would have come in not trying.
"Coming back in '06, there were rule changes. Basically for me, there was a conversation with both Jay Feaster and (head coach) John Tortorella, about 'we'll revisit this in a few months and see how things are going,'" he said.
"I'm glad I came back, because I now know that I was ready to retire, and I was told by my dad to do it - 'Make sure you're sure, and you're not going to sit around Christmas time and say I wish I would have tried.' I know I tried, and I was satisfied."
Recchi and Andreychuk will be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame in a ceremony on Nov. 13 in Toronto, along with fellow players Teemu Selanne, Paul Kariya, Danielle Goyette, and builders Clare Drake and Jeremy Jacobs.
The Russian forward's retirement papers have been signed and processed by the NHL and the Players' Association, expediting the process of ending his brief relationship with the expansion club, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.
Golden Knights general manager George McPhee confirmed the development via NHL.com correspondent Danny Webster:
McPhee: Vadim Shipachyov has voluntarily retired from the NHL and can return to the KHL with the Golden Knights’ consent. He didn’t want to play in the AHL, nor be traded. Wanted to go home. Contract off the books.
"We wanted to work with him, but he wanted to go home," McPhee continued. "He needed to play. Everyone here was playing better than he was. He needed to play and we were willing to have him play in (AHL) Chicago."
McPhee added he does not consider the situation to be a failure, and confirmed the team will recoup a pro-rated amount of a $2-million signing bonus from Shipachyov.
While the two-year, $9-million deal signed with the Golden Knights this past offseason will be null and void, his NHL rights will remain with Vegas until he turns 35.
Shipachyov, who scored one goal in three games with the Golden Knights, is now free to pursue opportunities in the KHL.
Head coach Claude Julien said the ailment is still considered to be minor and the hope is Price will be able to return to practice in a few days. Julien also made a point of confirming the current issue has nothing to do with a serious injury that kept Price out of action for a large chunk of 2015-16.
The star goalie will miss his third game since the injury was first announced on Nov. 4, and Charlie Lindgren will draw the start Tuesday against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Price has underperformed this season, posting a 3-7-1 record and .877 save percentage.
The Winnipeg Jets are out to prove they're for real.
After being embarassed by Toronto on opening night, this team seems to have found its way, posting a record of 6-1-3 over the past ten games and jumping to second place in the Central Division.
Here are three factors in their recent run of success.
Dynamic duo up front
In Monday's 4-1 win over Dallas, Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler combined for seven points; Scheifele scored two goals and added an assist, while Wheeler racked up four helpers, all of which were primary in nature.
The offensive outburst lifted Wheeler to third in the NHL in total points (21), behind only Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov. Scheifele's 18 points puts him in a tie for sixth, giving Winnipeg the league's second-most productive duo, albeit by a fairly wide margin.
Duo
Goals
Assists
Points
Stamkos/Kucherov
21
27
48
Scheifele/Wheeler
14
25
39
"I love playing with (Wheeler)," Scheifele said after the win, according to The Associated Press. "He's my favorite player I've ever played with, so we're happy with the way it's going right now and we've got to continue it."
There's really no reason to believe they won't.
One Hellebuyck of a goalie
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
When general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff signed Steve Mason to a two-year, $4.2-million contract this past offseason, the expectation was the former Philadelphia Flyer would step into the starter's role, with Connor Hellebuyck pencilled in as the backup.
That script has flipped early on, and head coach Paul Maurice has been calling Hellebuyck's name with great regularity based on his near-perfect early-season performance.
Hellebuyck has posted a record of 8-0-2 with a save percentage of .936, while Mason has yet to win a game as a Jet, going 0-3-1 on an abysmal .872 save percentage.
This is all likely to level off as the season progresses, but for now, Hellebuyck is the starter, showing management the answer in net may have been there all along.
Healthy blue line
At present, the Jets are rolling three solid defense pairings, per Daily Faceoff:
The addition of Dmitry Kulikov was questioned at the time of the signing, but he's filled out the back end effectively in a more limited role than he's had in recent, subpar seasons.
To be fair, there's work that needs to be done here, as none of these defensemen have positive Corsi ratings at even strength, and the Jets are allowing 34.5 shots per game, fourth-highest among all teams.
But as Hellebuyck said after the win over Dallas, they're still making things easier for him out there.
"I think the guys in front of me really got in the way and blocked a lot of the key shots," Hellebuyck said, per the team's website. "If they weren't blocking it, they were controlling and keeping it to the outside, so I was able to see pucks.
"It might have looked like a lot of shots (34), but the guys were doing the right things out there."
The way things are looking top to bottom, this may be the season this franchise finally wins a playoff game, at the very least.
"Owen was impressive in his time with our club and has a bright future with the Panthers," said Tallon. "This was a tough decision, but we think it's best for his long-term development."
Tippett was selected 10th overall at this year's draft, and recorded one goal on 17 shots through his first seven games at the NHL level.
Last season, he led Mississauga with 44 goals and 75 points in 60 games.
With the Avalanche mired in a historically awful season at the time, Duchene - who was dealt to the Ottawa Senators on Sunday - saw signs that general manager Joe Sakic was leading the club into a retooling phase. Having been down that road before, the now 26-year-old wasn't willing to spend his prime years not seriously competing for the Stanley Cup.
As a result, Duchene made the request to management, which he called "the hardest thing I ever had to do" at an introductory press conference in Ottawa on Monday.
"I wanted to play playoff hockey" he explained, per Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia. "I’ve got eight playoff games to my name right now and that’s not where I want to be at this point of my career. I only get one shot at this. I get to play this game for however long my body lets me play it and I felt I wanted to let Joe know it was time to move on."
Duchene was a Colorado fan as a kid, and dreamed of winning the Cup with the Avalanche. His 586 regular-season games with the franchise only translated into two trips to the playoffs, however, wherein he recorded six assists in eight games.
The Senators came within a goal of advancing to the Stanley Cup Final last season and certainly hope Duchene will add to his postseason totals with the club.
Matthews has appeared in every game for the Maple Leafs since his memorable debut last season. In 15 games to start 2017-18, he's recorded 10 goals and eight assists.
The newest member of the Ottawa Senators took to Twitter on Monday morning to offer a heartfelt note to the Colorado Avalanche organization, his former teammates, the fans, and the only place he's ever played pro hockey since being drafted third overall in 2009.
The MVP goaltender has posted an uncharacteristic .877 save percentage through 11 games, leading to a record of 3-7-1. His latest loss came Thursday at the hands of the Minnesota Wild, wherein Price allowed five goals on 26 shots, including three in the first period.
But far as forward Brendan Gallagher is concerned, everyone on the ice needs to do their part to keep the puck out of the net.
"It's on us to limit those opportunities," Gallagher said, according to Matt Cudzinowski of Canadiens.com. "I think they're getting too many chances from prime scoring areas and we've got to be better in front of our goalie. He saved and bailed us out so many times that we're definitely not looking to him to rescue us now. I think we've just got to be better as a team."
For his part, Price doesn't seem overly concerned with his numbers to date.
"It's definitely a battle, but I know how to get through it. I'm not concerned about it," he said. "I'm just trying to stay positive and stick to the process. That's what makes you successful."
For his career, Price carries a .919 save percentage, and his single-season low is .905, set in 2008-09 and 2012-13. Since the latter season, he's been arguably the best goalie in the world, and needs to find that form again if the Canadiens are going to rise from 29th place and back into playoff contention.
