By the middle of next week, Michael Ryder’s wallet will fatten considerably when an arbitrator rules the Montreal Canadiens’ forward is due a handsome pay raise.
More intriguing, however, is whether Ryder will remain a Hab if the arbitrator orders the player is owed $2M-2.5 million or more for one year.

Ryder will be in Toronto Tuesday along with his agent, Thane Campbell, and representative(s) from the National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) to sit before an arbitrator who will determine his salary next season. Across the table from the Ryder camp will be Canadiens’ GM Bob Gainey and his lieutenants.

There’s a chance Ryder will sign between now and Tuesday, as Gainey, according to one former player agent, doesn’t like to go through the arbitration process. Campbell, however, is expecting to gather in Toronto.

That Ryder’s even going to arbitration is somewhat surprising.

A restricted free agent, the Canadiens made the right-winger a qualifying offer of $1 million, the same money he earned last year when he led the Canadiens with 30 goals. That topped the 25 he registered as a rookie when he was finalist for the Calder Trophy.

More perplexing is the Canadiens signed Mike Ribeiro to a $1.9 million deal earlier this month, a big increase on the $1.1 million he made last year when he totaled 51 points, down from 65 in 2003-04.

Ryder won’t say anything — it’s not his way to rock the boat — but there appears to be a certain of lack of respect for the Bonavista hockey player who’s proven himself time and again.

The media, especially the francophone reporters, all but ignore Ryder, though that may be the result of his penchant of not saying a whole lot during interviews.

But over the past two seasons in Montreal, he’s bounced from the top line to the third line, and back to the first line again. Last year, it was the eve of training camp before Ryder finally signed with Montreal.

That the two sides are going before an arbitrator only fuels the thinking in some corners Ryder would be a more valued employee elsewhere.

When the two sides sit down Tuesday, as many as 10 people will be in the room. The player is wise to have thick skin. If he’s sensitive, he might want to wait in the corridor.

That Ryder is a finisher around the net isn’t news to the Canadiens, and they won’t go there before the arbitrator. But Montreal will likely exploit the fact Ryder was a late draft pick (216th overall in 1998) for a reason, that he’s not an easy skater, that he has defensive deficiencies.

Campbell will counter Ryder was among the team’s top scorers in each of his first two years in the NHL. He carries no baggage in the locker room, is well-liked among teammates and plays hard.

The big question Campbell will undoubtedly ask is whether Ryder can contribute more than Ribeiro, who is lazy and plays scared. In that regard, Campbell seems to have an open and shut case for at least $1.9 million.

If the arbitrator rules Ryder is due $2.5 million or even more, don’t expect Campbell to settle for less and in return bounce a one-year contract into a multi-year deal. That’s because the agent is confident Ryder is on the verge of busting out with a big year, just as Campbell’s other two clients did this season — the Sharks’ Jonathan Cheechoo, with 56 goals and 93 points and Carolina’s Justin Williams, with 31 goals and 76 points.


While the Canadiens are in good shape in terms of meeting the salary cap, they’ll be two salaries above the limit of 23 when Ryder signs, which means the Habs will be moving or dropping two salaries.

If Ryder is accorded a salary in the $2.5 million range Tuesday, don’t be entirely surprised if he’s moved. And with his old coach, Claude Julien, the same Julien who guided him in junior and minor pro and gave him his first NHL break in Montreal, having landed with the Devils, New Jersey might be a potential destination.

New Jersey’s in a salary cap quandary, and have yet to ink Scott Gomez to a contract. Gomez and the hockey club went to arbitration yesterday after the 84-point scorer refused the Devils’ offer of $4 million for next season. If Gomez is awarded $5 million or more by the arbitrator, the Devils will almost certainly look to make a deal and Ryder is an attractive, cheaper alternative.


Robin Short is Sports Editor

of The Telegram. He can be reached

by email at rshort@thetelegram.com