Report: Canadiens to part ways with Michael Ryder

Source : theglobleandmail.com

It appears Michael Ryder will be allowed to walk away from the Montreal Canadiens this summer.
According to a report in Le Journal de Montreal, Ryder's agent says the 33-year-old forward does not factor into general manager Marc Bergevin's offseason plans.

Ryder, who was in the final year of a two-year, $7-million contract he signed in 2011, is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 5.

Ryder had 10 goals and 21 points in 27 games with the Canadiens after being acquired in a trade with the Dallas Stars for Erik Cole. In the playoffs, he tallied one goal and one assist in the opening round loss to the Ottawa Senators.

Originally drafted by the Canadiens in 1998, Ryder spent his first four NHL seasons with the squad before joining the Boston Bruins as a free agent in 2008. Two years later, he was on the Bruins Stanley Cup winning team.

The Canadiens, meanwhile, signed forward prospect Tim Bozon to a three-year contract.
Bozon had 36 goals and 91 points and was plus-37 in 69 games for the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League this season.

The 19-year-old was drafted 64th overall by Montreal in 2012.

Bozon was born in St. Louis, where his father Philippe Bozon played for the Blues. The six-foot-one 185-pound forward played for France at the recently completed IIHF world championship, where he had one assist in five games.

In two seasons with Kamloops, he had 162 points in 140 games and was plus-64.