Prior to last season, the New Jersey Devils spent a decade in futility. This series is a way to reflect on some of these random legends from the Devils dark ages.
There have been thousands of players to play in the NHL and Michael Ryder was definitely one of them. He was drafted in the 8th round of the 1998 NHL draft and didn’t make his debut until the 2003-04 season when he tallied 63 points in 81 games. He had three 30-goal seasons and won the 2011 Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins. Overall, Ryder had a pretty solid career but he spent his twilight years in New Jersey.
The mid-2010s Devils were known to acquire aging, slow players. Players like Jaromir Jagr, Martin Havlat and Tuomo Ruutu were mainstays in the Devils lineup in these years. Ryder was on the Devils from 2013-15 for his age 33 and 34 seasons before retirement. By no means was he a bad player but he wasn’t a standout either. In 129 games he scored 24 goals and had 29 assists for 53 points. He was also the first Devil to wear the number 17 since superstar Ilya Kovalchuk suddenly left for the KHL in his prime.
Those Devils teams in hindsight really were directionless. Lou Lamoriello’s twilight with the team saw players like him be acquired on a yearly basis in a vain attempt to compete. It took over a decade after 2012 to finally build a competitive roster after multiple other failed attempts at rebuilding and competing. However, it’s good that the Devils can finally look past the dark ages. They have what they hope to be better years on the horizon.
Stay tuned for more New Jersey Devils and NHL content, including trades, signings, and various updates.
Featured image courtesy of NHL.com
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