We will miss Ryan Ward, Thank you card from all Swarm fans Options

[Corporal]

A day I thought would never happened has with Ryan Ward getting traded to Edmonton today in the following deal:

MINNESOTA SWARM: Have traded Ryan Ward, Justin Norbraten, Scott Stewart and Richard Morgan to the Edmonton Rush in exchange for Ryan Benesch, Scott Self, and their first round selection in the 2009 Entry Draft.

I want to thank Ryan for his kindness to me and so many others here in Minnesota. He even taught me how to shoot behind my back at a practice one day. He has been great in growing the sport in Minnesota and I hope he is able to continue to do so.

I wish all best wishes and good luck to Ryan and his wife Laurel as they move on to their next endeavor.

(IMG:http://www.swarmitup.com/images/RyanWard-09.jpg)

[bigbeano]

Where did he coach here?

[LaxWizz]

WOW, that is all I can say at this point is WOW.

Benesch and Self are great pick ups and will do well if they remain here but WOW.

LW

[niknak]

I agree, sad to see Ryan leave the team, but those things happen.

Hope you keep on coaching and doing good things around here!

[addictedtolax27]

wow, my jaw is on the floor. i know ward didnt have as great of a season this year as he had in the past but i never saw this coming. when i first began watching the swarm, ward was one of the guys who inspired me most to go buy a stick and eventually become obsessed with this great sport. i know we should always expect the unexpected with marty at the wheel but this still comes as a big surprise. i'll miss seeing ryan out on the turf and hope our newly acquired players can brings us good things.

[kevlax72]

For the first time in my life I agree with Corpsy. I want to thank Ryan for all he has done to grow the sport in MN. I will miss you Ryan.

[wildheadtatt]

Thanks Ryan for your time with the Swarm. And thanks also for everything you've done in the community. We will miss you.

[MrsMcSwarmFan]

Ryan - Thanks for everything you've done for Minnesota and the sport of lacrosse. Good luck in Edmonton.



Bigbeano - Eden Prairie is where Ryan has been coaching.

[dtj]

Mind you I don't have any concrete information, but I suspect that he'll sticking around MN and being a fly-in for Edmonton. My reasoning is:

• He has a real job here, at St Paul Prep.
• He owns a house here. Not a good time to sell.
• His business, Twin Cities Lacrosse, would be kinda hard to transfer. ;-) I don't see as big an upside for the biz in Edmonton.
• His wife is American and a nurse, as I recall. She would likely have to take Canadian boards to do nursing, and getting permission (ie. Canuckistan green card equiv)
• He has a good HS coaching gig.
• MSP is nicely centrally located

If he did move, I suspect it would be to Victoria, which adds the value of his family, a nicer place to be, and a more lucrative lacrosse environment.

[morecowbell]

Good luck Ryan... We really enjoyed having you around.

[chefswarmer]

good luck Ryan you will be missed by all of us hive members.

[X-LaX]

Farewell Ryan... the Swarm won't be the same without you.

[kevlax72]

Yeah, I just don't get this one. It's not like Ryan is getting wasted and peeing in the streets. He was a very productive player and a great community face for the swarm. I also think Ryan was a great leader so yeah... just don't get this one.

[THX1129]

Ryan Ward was my favorite Swarm player. I'm sad to see him leave the team.

[butala]

what can i say... wardo being traded away is absolutely not cool. NOT COOL.
not ok... at all. :(

[dtj]

It's not like Ryan is getting wasted and peeing in the streets.

That we know of... You wouldn't think the same thing of Corporal, but... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[dtj]

Yeah, I just don't get this one. It's not like Ryan is getting wasted and peeing in the streets. He was a very productive player and a great community face for the swarm. I also think Ryan was a great leader so yeah... just don't get this one.

It's actually very simple. If Marty is doing his job, its only what happens on the floor that matters and the positives for the community are just nice extras. Last year, many would agree, Ryan was an under-performing asset. His potential and value (in a biz sense) were well beyond his performance. Kind of like Craig Point, namely the distance between his trade value and his on-floor value began to get too big, given what else was available on the market. Marty was selling a nice safe dividend stock to invest in potential high flyers.

I certainly hate him getting traded, for quite a number of reasons, but the trade has a certain logic to it.

[Curly Fro]

I am not sure on this statement, but dont all the players get paid the same, or no?

Cause you can easily pencil in 50 points a year from Ward, even in a down year...consistency and veteran leadership in my opinion is a commodity, and all "potential" does is get people fired...

[MrsMcSwarmFan]

No, I don't think everyon gets paid the same. It's not a HUGE range of pay, but I think the successful vets get paid more than the rookies.

And we don't know everything that goes on behind the scenes. There may have been other factors that were considered in this trade that aren't necessarily public information. (Some examples from previous trades would include work issues, family issues, personality conflicts, off-field behavior, nagging injuries, etc.) We just don't know everything that went into this decision, and we never will.

[dtj]

I am not sure on this statement, but dont all the players get paid the same, or no?

Cause you can easily pencil in 50 points a year from Ward, even in a down year...consistency and veteran leadership in my opinion is a commodity, and all "potential" does is get people fired...

No, there is a wide pay band for them. Back a coupla years it was anywhere from $6k for rookies to $24k for vets. I think franchise players got an extra spiff. There are likely some other benefits, depending on their situation.

Especially in the contracted NLL, consistency gets you a losing (and flat) team. There are a wealth of proven players that have huge upsides, especially once you get them out of their previous situations. There are also the bolt from the blue players, like Buchanan. For instance, Benesch getting out of a horrible Toronto situation gave him the opportunity to show production.

I think ultimately its a matter of finding the spark that gets things going. Trading away the guy that is essentially the offensive captain and O quarterback is definitely a way of sparking things.