Former Canadiens fan favourite haunted Montreal in the playoffs with the Bruins
One day you are beloved by fans, having your name cheered by 21,000 people at the Bell Centre, and the next you are getting booed by every single one of them whenever you touch the puck. That is the exact situation Michael Ryder found himself in when he left the Montreal Canadiens to join their bitter rivals, the Boston Bruins. Ryder found success in Montreal, recording 25 goals as a rookie, and followed that up with back-to-back 30-goal campaigns. After a down year in the 2007-08 season, where he was scratched regularly by head coach Guy Carbonneau in the playoffs, he left town and joined their biggest rivals. A once-beloved player became public enemy number one.
Ryder and Canadiens’ relationship takes a sour turn
No one expected Ryder to be as good as he was with the Canadiens. He was an 8th-round pick in the 1998 draft and did not make it to the NHL until the 2003-04 season. He spent the two years after the draft with the Hull Olympiques in the QMJHL before splitting the next couple of seasons between the Canadiens’ AHL and ECHL affiliate teams. He got his chance with the Canadiens in 2003 and hit the ground running. He recorded 25 goals and 38 assists in 81 games as a rookie. After the 2004-05 lockout season, Ryder returned the next year and hit the 30-goal plateau for the first time in his career. He scored 30 goals again the next year, and it was looking like Ryder was going to be a constant goal threat for the Canadiens, but his tenure in Montreal took a turn for the worse in his fourth season.
After back-to-back 30-goal seasons, Ryder had the worst season of his career. His goal total fell off a cliff, recording just 14 goals and adding 17 assists in 70 games. Because Ryder was on an expiring contract and was struggling on the ice, there were rumours he could be moved at the trade deadline, which did not help the relationship between the player and the organization. However, the nail in the coffin happened during the playoffs when Ryder was a healthy scratch eight times in 12 games. When free agency opened up, Ryder traded in his bleu, blanc, et rouge jersey for a black and yellow Bruins one. He signed a three-year contract worth $4 million per season, reuniting him with former Canadiens head coach Claude Julien. It was not long before Ryder was crushing the hearts of Canadiens fans.
Ryder helps Bruins lift Lord Stanley before coming home
Ryder rediscovered his goal-scoring form with the Bruins in his first season in Boston. He recorded 27 goals and 26 assists in 74 games, but was even better for them in the playoffs. He had five goals and eight assists in 11 games, with seven of those points (four goals and three assists) coming in their opening-round sweep of the Canadiens. He had a down year in his second season, only recording 33 points in 82 games, but he made up for it in the 2011 playoffs. After an average regular season in 2010-11, recording 41 points, Ryder came alive in the playoffs. Once again, the opening-round matchup was the Canadiens. Ryder was not as productive this time around against Montreal, just two goals and an assist in seven games, but did score the overtime winner in Game 4 to tie the series at two. After helping the Bruins beat the Canadiens in seven games, Boston went on to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Vancouver Canucks to win their first Stanley Cup since 1972. Ryder finished the playoffs with eight goals and nine assists in 25 games.
Ryder helped the Bruins lift their first Stanley Cup in 32 years and was a major contributor in the process. That should be enough for him to be hated in Montreal for the rest of time, but that just was not the case. He left the Bruins in the offseason after winning the Stanley Cup, signing with the Dallas Stars. He had a career year in his first season in Dallas, recording 35 goals and 27 assists in 82 games, but it was not long before he would be a Canadien again. After another strong start in the lockout-shortened season, recording 14 points in the Stars’ first 19 games, he was traded back to where his NHL career first began, the Canadiens. The Canadiens traded Erik Cole to the Stars for Ryder and a 3rd-round pick. Ryder was excellent in his return to Montreal, recording 10 goals and 11 assists in 27 games with the Canadiens. Ryder left the Canadiens once again in the offseason, signing with the New Jersey Devils, but this time it was not on bad terms. From fan-favourite to traitor back to fan-favourite, Ryder had the pleasure of being both ends of the Canadiens fans’ cheers and boos.
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