Agent: Bayda's first choice was to resign with Penguins

Agent: Bayda's first choice was to resign with Penguins

3:39pm - Wednesday, July 28th, 2010 by DePaoli

CBA Restrictions led to Bayda signing elsewhere

Veteran free agent forward Ryan Bayda signed a one year deal last week with Nuremberg in the Germany DEL. Bayda, 29, inked a two-way contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins last September. He appeared in 21 games (8g-3a-11pts) with the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins.

A knee injury shortened Bayda's season, who had a strong 2009 training camp and appeared to have earned a roster spot with the big club before the Penguins went in another direction and claimed winger Chris Bourque just before the 2009-2010 regular season opener.

Looking to bolster their depth, the Penguins expressed an interest in re-signing Bayda this off-season again and offered the 29 year old winger a two-way contract. Bayda also had a strong interest in coming back to Pittsburgh.

{Ryan}"Bayda's first choice was to come back to Pittsburgh, " Ben Hankinson, the agent for Bayda told Inside Pittsburgh Sports this afternoon.

Hankinson noted that the CBA restrictions on two-way contracts led to Bayda signing with Nuremberg. "He falls into CBA contract restrictions and can only make $105K in AHL or subject to re-entry waivers since he played full NHL season with Carolina in 08-09 season, " Hankinson said. "Ryan decided to take much higher guaranteed salary in Germany."

The 5-foot-11, 185-pound winger has appeared in 179 career NHL games, tallying 16 goals and 24 assists for 40 points. He will look to get back into the NHL next season.

More notes

*Health wise, it was a tough 2009-2010 campaign for Penguins winger Chris Kunitz who appeared in only 50 games last season.

Kunitz underwent abdominal surgery in January and ended the 2009-2010 season with a bum shoulder and a torn groin muscle.

There was some thought inside the organization that Kunitz may under-go surgery to repair the torn muscle this off-season but surgery has been ruled out and Kunitz is "doing well healthwise, " Kunitz' agent Ben Hankinson said today.

Kunitz, 30, had 13 goals and 19 assists last season. Battling through multiple injuries, Kunitz had a strong playoff run, finishing third on the team with 11 points in 13 games.

WBS Penguins sign scoring winger

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Comments

BillCitro

Bayda would have been a good 4th line option this year, especially if Talbot is given a shot in the top 6.

07/28/2010 4:35pm

dirtmccurt

We really need Kunitz to stay healthy this year

07/28/2010 5:21pm

mwalluk

We need Fleury to play better

07/28/2010 5:28pm

SV84

Wonderful weather we are having.

07/28/2010 5:35pm

SV84

Hopefully that door smacked him right on the ass.

07/28/2010 5:48pm

OU812

Wanted to see Bayda up with big club beginning of last season rather than that d-bag Bourque.

07/28/2010 8:16pm

jeffed

It's been a while since a Bayda article. Good stuff. Still no word on Kaye Cowher's passing though...

07/28/2010 10:05pm

CM2005

Borque was a waste of a roster spot.

07/28/2010 10:40pm

froods

Bourque was a waste of life!

07/29/2010 12:05am

dsig41

Stay classy froods.

07/29/2010 8:48am

Jeff2266

bourque was worth the risk, maybe he turns out to be good maybe not but we know that bayda is what he is 4th liner

07/29/2010 9:02am

Jeff2266

but yes he ended up being a waste of space

07/29/2010 9:03am

Jeff2266

07/29/2010 9:03am

dirtmccurt

I read Svatos is getting a lot of interest from the KHL. I hope RS at least makes him an offer before we lose him to the Russkies

07/29/2010 9:57am

TDBennyC3

borque cost us biznasty didnt he?

07/29/2010 9:59am

Jeff2266

yes i believe so, something im also not to worried about

07/29/2010 10:00am

TDBennyC3

come on biz was 250k cheaper than godard, fights better and played both offense and D... those things right there could have saved us $$ for help up front. he would have been a perfect 13thF/7thD/enforcer that only plays when needed thats 1.5 million saved

07/29/2010 10:27am

zerocool6687

Fights better the Godard? He was a tough guy no question but better the Eric????

07/29/2010 10:34am

zerocool6687

Other then Shelly falling on his ass in his 1st Phoenix fight he has not fought the monsters Godard does!

07/29/2010 10:37am

mwalluk

Well Biz tweets are better hahahha

07/29/2010 10:40am

Jeff2266

neither player is really someone we need, really who cares about who wins more fights, no one fights godard beacuse he has beaten basically everyone in the league. i really dont think we missed out on much with bisonette, those type of players are not tough to aqquire. Id rather have Adams and Rupp playing

07/29/2010 10:42am

Jeff2266

I do enjoy watching Godard beat up Colton Orr a few times a year though

07/29/2010 10:43am

Jeff2266

and riley cote for that matter

07/29/2010 10:43am

TDBennyC3

mwalluk, he reactivate the account? ok a strectch to say he fights even as good as godard... but jeff, in what ive seen of him (he opened the season when we went to sweden a couple years ago) he had hockey talent adn wasnt just an enforcer. and like i said played defense a little too... bottom line is would have rather retained him then picking up chris borque is all

07/29/2010 10:59am

Jeff2266

ya i see what ur saying, a few of my buddies played against him when he played in Welland, ON when he was a defenseman so he has come a long way. but i think RS looked at as, ill sacrifice this 4th line guy for a guy who has talent and maybe becomes a cheap option in the top 6. Obviously it didnt work out that way but i like that RS gambles to try to find chaep top 6 options, hopefully that continues with some tryouts this camp

07/29/2010 11:16am

dirtmccurt

The Godard-Cote fights were the best, but I'm going to enjoy seeing Godard v. Shelley and Godard v. Boogaard though

07/29/2010 11:18am

jpaha

Jeff, i totally agree with u. Biz was nothing more than a 4th liner which u could find anywhere, and he probably wouldn't play d at all cause that would be pretty desperate on Shero's part since he hadn't played it for a couple of years. Also, i know Bourque failed, but i think it was worth the risk since he was still young and absolutely tore up the minors for years. Those are the kinds of risks that Shero should be taking

07/29/2010 11:22am

TDBennyC3

see, i heard or read somewhere, borque was a ahl rilvalry pick up, he was undersized and career AHL guy. again read or heard forgot whre, sorry... and i am by no means saying that BIZ is a great defensemen, just thinking outside the box for this year instead of paying a 7th defensemen 500k + 13th F 500k + enforcer 750k. we would have all these unnecessary salaries wrapped up in 1 person in turning freeing up about 1 mill in cap room. again its an outside the box idea

07/29/2010 11:33am

dirtmccurt

Yeah, it'll be hard to get all 3 like that but there are guys like Schubert and Paetsch that can do 2 of the 3

07/29/2010 11:38am

Jeff2266

ya schubert is tough, not fighting wise but hes a strong individual i hated that guy in Ottawa, but he wasnt a bad player. would be a great 7th man IMO

07/29/2010 11:41am

Jeff2266

Descent skater as well

07/29/2010 11:41am

jpaha

i like Schubert as well. every time he was in Ottawa i remember him plastering like half of our team in the glass. If they don't get a guy like him, i think u will just see one of the guys in WBS come up on road trips or something like that

07/29/2010 11:47am

dirtmccurt

I like the guy but we really can't afford to spend money on him, he really doesn't replace anyone

07/29/2010 11:54am

jpaha

No, he doesn't replace anyone, but if u want a 7th dman he'd come pretty cheap and is physical who can also play forward. I'd rather just give the WBS guys a shot

07/29/2010 12:08pm

dirtmccurt

Not as cheap as just bring the kids along on trips like you said

07/29/2010 12:13pm

TDBennyC3

saw depending on the wheeler arb hearing ryder could be bought out. they said it would be a 1.33 cap hit, but is that to B's? once bought out they are a FA right? and if he were to go through waivers then re entry what would his 4 mill be?

07/29/2010 12:42pm

dirtmccurt

Alright you threw out a lot of info there benny. If they place him on waivers, we can claim him but we'd take his full cap hit (but I doubt he makes it to us anyway). If he's bought out, then yes he's a FA and we could offer him like 1M or whatever. If he's put on waivers and called back up, we'd get him for 2M but again, I doubt he would ever make it to us

07/29/2010 12:54pm

dirtmccurt

And yes, if he's bought out, he'll count as 1.333M for the next two years for the Bs

07/29/2010 12:56pm

dirtmccurt

I would guess a Gagne type trade will be the most likely scenario

07/29/2010 1:05pm

TDBennyC3

man it sucks being cap strapped... better than being bankrupt though.. thanks alot dirt

07/29/2010 1:52pm

dirtmccurt

haha yeah I agree but I'd much rather be in our situation then theirs

07/29/2010 1:59pm

Jeff2266

ryder at the right price is a perfect fit IMO. Hard working newfie boy who can put the puck in the net, id love to see him here but again at the right price

07/29/2010 2:02pm

dirtmccurt

If by some miracle Ryder gets bought out, RS better have him signed within a half hour

07/29/2010 2:25pm

Jeff2266

this team needs a newfie presence Ryder, Clowe or Cleary would fit the bill nicely

07/29/2010 2:33pm

dirtmccurt

Too bad though, there's no way to get him under the cap short of dropping Dupuis and Godard and only going with 12F and 6D or dropping Dupper and trading Gogo.

07/29/2010 2:42pm

Jeff2266

well if hes bought out that all changes right?

07/29/2010 2:45pm

dirtmccurt

I would assume

07/29/2010 2:54pm

dirtmccurt

I just don't see the point in buying him out

07/29/2010 2:55pm

Jeff2266

Well it came from one of my reliable sources, TDBenny so well see

07/29/2010 3:57pm

dirtmccurt

Jesus, how long does it take for these damn arbiters to make a decision. Hopefully we'll hear something about Wheeler in the next hour

07/29/2010 4:35pm

TDBennyC3

hahaha thanks jeff! no its on the site mynhltraderumors. com.. its a pretty cool site, i think they post some of D's work to... doug flyn of nesn was saying how the B's need to sign senguin and wheeler and are already pushingthe cap and coupled that with having a tough time moving savard and thomas..... but the site mentioned above is one of those colloboration websites

07/29/2010 5:40pm

froods

Boston Globe is reporting that his arbitrator was caught up in Niemi's case and might not have decision till tomorrow. Can the NHL get anything right?

07/29/2010 6:12pm

dirtmccurt

How does the NHL remember to give Tim freaking Kennedy a contract but not Wheeler

07/29/2010 6:50pm

dsig41

Nice to see the pens are giving tours of consol to STH's ... Can't wait to see it...

07/29/2010 8:15pm

jpaha

Wheeler was awarded 2.2M at 1yr. TSN says Boston will probably come to an agreement

07/29/2010 10:38pm

dirtmccurt

I still cannot understand that decision. Raymond took 2.5 to avoid arbitration and yet Wheeler only gets 2.2?

07/29/2010 10:42pm

jpaha

what don't u understand about it? Raymond had a better year than Wheeler. If he would have went to arb. he definitely would have got more than Wheeler

07/29/2010 10:48pm

Besa

With Dj King now with the Caps do all of you Godard haters believe Max Talbot will have to fight King. Thank goodness that Godard is still on this team> Ray shero knows what he is doing

07/29/2010 11:18pm

dirtmccurt

I understand he had a better year, but that's not a big disparity between their stats (and Wheeler has one year less). I'm just saying...after seeing Raymond's contract, I would have guessed 2.2 is something Wheeler would have settled for before the hearing, not be awarded it

07/29/2010 11:26pm

dirtmccurt

*there's, not that's

07/29/2010 11:27pm

dsig41

The next time Godard prevents anything from happening to one of our stars, it will be the first. Goons are a dying breed. Don't act like RS is a genius for holding on to someone that can be replaced in a heartbeat. 3 min of icetime pwr game for 750,000 when your up against the cap and still in need of a few players... Not what I call a genius move..

07/30/2010 8:58am

TDBennyC3

dsig, hating the "enforcer" role is fine. and yes it is dying out... but when your division starts to collect them, and mind you they are paying over a million to them, its comforting having godard at 750k... again look back at carcillo going after gaborik, or the islander game last year where they were taking liberities on our guys or even the thrashers game where godard did step up and fight boulton who was running at our star players.... its understandable that you dont like it.. but in this division/conference you have to be prepared for the extracurricular activities

07/30/2010 9:51am

TDBennyC3

also i get the argumnt that godard and crosby wont be on the same line... but if it looks like a team is taking runs then DB throws godard out there on crosbys line to facilitate.. saying that doesnt happen is a lie, it does happen

07/30/2010 9:52am

Besa

Like I said Before if there is only 4 minutes of ice time and 2 fights with DJ king this will keep King too busy to go after Talbot , oepik etc. I dont want Ovie laughing at our bench. Sign Asham if people at biased against Godard.

07/30/2010 10:04am

↑ previous comments ↑

dirtmccurt

Brendan Witt is probably getting bought out, wonder if we pick him up at 500k?

07/30/2010 1:41pm

Jeff2266

that would be great, hes punished 87 and 71 so much be nice to have him on the team

07/30/2010 2:00pm

dirtmccurt

I'm also interested in seeing how Boston gets under the cap.

07/30/2010 2:09pm

jpaha

for 500K i would definitely do it. Witt is a very similar player to Orpik, that would be pretty cool

07/30/2010 4:01pm

Jeff2266

Witt is just about broken down but wouldnt be a bad insurace policy if Lovejoy is a disaster (which i dont see) but witt as a 6th/7th d man over Engelland i would do it in a sec

07/30/2010 4:54pm