Tampa Bay Lightning Alum Ryan Malone gets PTO with the Minnesota Wild
Former Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ryan Malone is getting another chance to make a difference in the National Hockey League.
In the world of professional ice hockey, things don’t exactly go according to plan. There are injuries to consider, the ever-looming possibility of a trade, the free agency market, and life as a whole all come into play in addition to their lives on the ice. No one knows this better than a certain former Tampa Bay Lightning forward.
Thankfully, the aforementioned forward is getting another chance at truly making a name for themselves in the National Hockey League. This player would be none other than former Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ryan Malone.
Anyone who has been following the Lightning for the last couple of years knows the story of Ryan Malone. There have been both ups and downs in Malone’s career and his time here in the Sunshine State, but judging by the most recent news, one’s story is never quite finished as long as they still have passion in their hearts.
Tampa Bay Lightning
It was announced late last week that Ryan Malone had been extended an invitation to the training camp of the Minnesota Wild and was offered a Professional Tryout. Now, does this mean he’ll be suiting up for the Wild in the upcoming season? Maybe, maybe not; however, at least he will have the opportunity.
Ryan Malone was acquired by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the off-season following the 2007-08 season when the Bolts acquired negotiating rights for Malone from the Pittsburgh Penguins for a third-round draft pick in the 2009 NHL Draft. This would be the beginning of a beautiful relationship between Malone and the Lightning.
One of the things many fans loved about Ryan Malone was his aggressiveness in front of the net. His net-front presence and his ability to dig deep for rebounds and shoot at those dirty places some seem to forget about would be one of his biggest contributions to the team.
While Malone would never quite reach the career-high 51 points he scored in his final season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, he definitely made quite a splash in the 2011-12 season with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Malone would play 68 games with the Lightning that season, and in this amount of time, he would bring home a total of 20 goals and 28 assists for a grand total of 48 points in the regular season. These numbers placed Malone in fourth place on the team in assists and fifth place on the team in goals and overall points.
Bugsy, as he was affectionately known by a majority of the Lightning fan base, found himself just one point shy of former captain Vincent Lecavalier in overall points. This is not a bad place to be in for someone who was not exactly considered to be a prolific goal scorer.
Unfortunately, in the seasons that would follow, Malone would find himself dealing with a number of injuries which would relegate him to the sidelines. In addition to this, he would be victim to the good old “healthy scratch” situation more than anyone would like to have seen.
Suddenly…things would start to make sense. On Saturday, April 12, 2014, Ryan Malone would be arrested by Tampa Police and charged with driving under the influence and cocaine possession. As you can imagine, the NHL doesn’t take this kind of scenario lightly and Malone found himself in some rather hot water.
Just over two months later, on July 25, 2014, the Tampa Bay Lightning would exercise their second compliance buyout in order to buy out Malone’s contract. This made Malone an Unrestricted Free Agent and the recipient of two-thirds the remaining balance on his contract over twice the remaining term.
Obviously, this would mark the end of his term with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The good news for Malone is, it wouldn’t take entirely too long for him to land on his feet and find a new home to lace up his skates. On September 11, 2014, Ryan Malone would sign a two-way deal with the New York Rangers.
Unfortunately, Malone would play the whole of six games with the Rangers in the 2014-15 season and was eventually reassigned to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. After just 24 games with the Wolf Pack, it seemed as if Ryan Malone’s on-ice career had officially come to a close.
In February of 2015, Malone and the Rangers mutually agreed to terminate his contract with the team. What was once full of potential was now relegated to the pages of history. Well…so we thought.
This could be a really good thing for Ryan Malone. If Malone is truly ready to make another go of things, this could be the opportunity of a lifetime. Of course, there are never any guarantees when signed to a PTO, but it definitely creates opportunity, and sometimes…that’s all you need.
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We here at Bolts By The Bay certainly wish Ryan Malone the best in his new adventure with the Minnesota Wild. Hopefully, he will be able to make the most out of this opportunity and reclaim his place in the National Hockey League.