Ryan 'doing great,' hopes to return for Senators this season

Bobby Ryan, who entered the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program in November, said he expects to return to the Ottawa Senators this season.

"That is the plan. I haven't been given a specific date," the forward said Friday after practice in his first comments since entering the program. "We've had discussions about it. … I know that I'm getting closer and I will definitely be playing and I hope within the next two weeks. ... I think from here on out, I could be all systems go but we'll analyze that today and go from there again."
Ryan hasn't played since Nov. 16, four days before entering the program. He has four points (one goal, three assists) in 16 games this season.
"I'm doing great," Ryan said. "I've been back since December in some capacity and what the capacity is gets kind of gradually updated. I'm doing very, very well. It's been trying at times, but everybody has been very supportive, and my recovery has been a process and a learning thing for me for sure. I've come a long way and I've just continued to get a little bit better each day.
"It's been tough. It's gotten a little easier every day as you get a little more integrated. Just being around the guys, the first month obviously was very tough and then you come back and you're very isolated with what you're doing and trying to make the baby steps to come back. You're going through the protocol but you're not around the guys."
Ryan said he has been dealing with alcohol abuse for some time and came to the realization this season that he needed more formal help after trying to get better on his own. He said he was hoping to wait until the end of this season to enter the program but realized that was not feasible.
"What I was doing wasn't enough," Ryan said. "I was trying white-knuckle things and do things the wrong way and I'd have 20 days of nothing and one really bad one. I didn't want to continue to do that. I had a lot of times where I woke up in the morning just overridden with guilt and shame and saying I would do it. I'd do it for 12 days then I'd be messing up again. … It had no good end."

Ryan said he has had a good deal of help along the way during the past four months, citing his wife, Danielle, as one of his primary supporters.
"Away from the rink, my wife has been absolute rock star allowing me to do this," he said. "She's taken on more than she's probably had to, but she's been absolutely incredible."
He said he has also leaned on several players who have had the same issues.
"Everybody knows some of the guys who've been through the program and can be a little more vocal about it, and I've talked to all of those guys," Ryan said. "I've played with some of them and really leaned on them. Some guys reached out that I had no clue that had already gone through it, and they did it quietly and they did it in June, and it worked for them. … That kind of support within the NHL I found overwhelming. It was incredible how many guys reached out that I had no prior contact with, but it was incredible."
The 32-year-old is in the fifth season of a seven-year, $50.75 million contract with an average annual value of $7.25 million but has not scored more than 20 goals or 50 points since 2015-16. He had four straight seasons with at least 31 goals from 2008-12 with the Anaheim Ducks, who traded him to Ottawa on July 5, 2013.
"People have reservations about where I am in my career and contract and I understand that," he said. "I'm not saying I am going to come out of this and play like the $7 million guy that I want to be as much as everybody else does, but this is a chance for me to reset and prove that I still have some years left in this League."
The Senators (21-29-11) are in 15th place in the Eastern Conference; they host the Montreal Canadiens at Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN1, CITY, SNE, NHL.TV).