Ducks send Ryan to minors in salary cap move

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The Ducks made another move to get under the salary cap Friday, sending top prospect Bobby Ryan down to the Iowa Chops of the American Hockey League.

In the last week, the Ducks also traded veteran defensemen Mathieu Schneider and Sean O’Donnell to make enough room under the cap to re-sign forward Teemu Selanne.

Ryan, the second overall draft pick of the Ducks in 2005, had a strong start during the exhibition season, scoring two goals in a 6-4 victory over visiting San Jose last week.

But Ryan’s salary of $821,700, plus his possible performance bonuses of $925,000, made him the odd man out. Typically, performance bonuses count toward the next season’s salary cap, but because the players association has maintained its option to reopen the collective bargaining agreement after this season, all potential bonuses count toward this season’s cap of $56.7 million.

It is a tough situation for Ryan. I’m over at the Kings practice at the moment, where the No. 2 overall pick from the most recent draft, defenseman Drew Doughty, is close to making the team.

-- Dan Arritt