Former Viper Bayda Hopes To Crack Penguins' Lineup:

Bayda hopes to crack Penguins' lineup

Friday, September 18, 2009

By Dave Molinari, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

WILKES-BARRE -- This is not the first time Ryan Bayda has had to try out for a hockey team.

Just the first time since the days when his other pressing concerns were things like lining up a date for the prom.

Bayda, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound winger, was a teenager then, playing midget hockey and moving down a path that eventually would lead him to the University of North Dakota. Today, he is 29, a veteran of seven-plus pro seasons and trying to defy some daunting odds and convince the Penguins he is worthy of a contract.

Not that such a lack of security is a major issue for him.

"I've never really been in a situation where I've had anything guaranteed, so it's the same situation," he said. "I'm here to try to prove myself and prove that I can play and do it at a high level.

Bayda, like nearly everyone else, was overshadowed last night by defenseman Alex Goligoski, who scored all three goals in the Black squad's 3-2 victory against the Gold team in the Penguins' intrasquad scrimmage before a sellout crowd of 8,322 at Wachovia Arena.

Bayda is coming off his most-productive season as a pro -- he had five goals and seven assists in 70 games with Carolina, and did not take a minor league shift for the first time in his career -- and said the Hurricanes offered him a two-way contract, which pays a reduced salary if the player is not in the NHL.

He declined because "I thought maybe it was time to try somewhere else, see what other options were out there," but it turned out he did not have many. Not that came with any certainty, at least.

Eventually, he accepted a tryout in St. Louis, but reconsidered after the Blues signed forward Derek Armstrong, late of Los Angeles. The odds are stacked against anyone on a tryout earning a contract. So, when St. Louis added Armstrong to its depth chart, Bayda's prospects for playing there dimmed considerably, and he decided to come to the Penguins' camp.

"Once Derek signed, it kind of took up all their contracts and there wasn't a lot of room left," Bayda said.

NHL teams are allowed to have up to 50 players under contract; it is not known how many spaces, if any, the Blues have remaining, but that will not be an issue with the Penguins. They are believed to be at least three, and possibly four, below the limit.

With that detail moot, Bayda can focus on his efforts on proving to the Penguins that he is worthy of filling one of those spots.

In the salary-cap era, it is not unusual for NHL-caliber talents to find themselves out of work, and more than a few in recent years have gone the tryout route to re-establish themselves. Adam Hall did that with the Penguins in 2007-08, and his solid performance led to a three-year deal in Tampa.

Hall filled a blue-collar role for the Penguins, working on the bottom two lines and killing penalties, and Bayda will be looking to do pretty much the same. He forechecks hard and flashes a nasty edge occasionally, like when he cross-checked Penguins defenseman Kris Letang in the face at the end of Game 2 in the Eastern Conference final in the spring.

He does not make a habit of such things, so management is not likely to worry about Bayda taking more penalties than he kills. And Bayda, for his part, does not anticipate any lingering hard feelings with Letang if the two end up wearing the same sweater.

"It's a game where emotions get up there, and a lot of things happen on the ice," he said. "I'm sure that once I meet Kris, it will be water under the bridge for both of us. Hopefully, at some point down the road, it's something we can joke about. Guys fight each other and then become teammates and become good friends.

Fact is, Bayda has a reputation as a good team guy, and one whose personality makes him a positive presence in the dressing room. That could work in his favor if his on-ice work meets management's expectations.

"I just want to show them I have a good work ethic, that I'm a good guy in the room -- I like to have some fun and keep the room loose -- who plays hard and does all the little things," Bayda said.

"Just be a solid player that they can feel comfortable with playing in defensive-zone and offensive-zone situations. Someone they can rely on.