Ducks' Ryan and Festerling take a road trip
"Twenty Four Hours in Bakersfield"
The new Quentin Tarantino movie? Nope, it's the latest road trip for the Ducks' Bobby Ryan and Brett Festerling.
This is no "Pulp Fiction." Ryan and Festerling flew in from Iowa on Saturday, played in Anaheim on Sunday and were shipped off to Bakersfield on Monday.
By sentencing, I mean sending, the two players to Buck Owens' hometown for a fun-filled day and night, the Ducks will save about $12,000 against their salary cap. Using the NHL's math, that amount could balloon to about $60,000 come trade deadline. Because the Ducks have an affiliate in Bakersfield, Ryan and Festerling will be off the books for one day.
Every penny counts for a team flirting with surpassing the $56.7-million cap. The Ducks ended last season $21,000 under the cap, or a season's worth of fines for Sean Avery.
Ryan and Festerling drove to Bakersfield on Monday and were required to check into a hotel to prove that they were there. Talk about taking one for the team.
No word whether the two were required to eat at McDonald's to save some per diem.
-- Chris Foster
Photo: The Ducks' Bobby Ryan, left, tries to pass the puck past the Phoenix Coyotes' Derek Morris during a late-September game in Arizona. Credit: Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press
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I was pleasantly surprised how effective Ryan and Festerling were in last night's game against the Kings. I don't expect it to last all season but let's see if they can keep it up for the next game. Assuming they make it back from Bakersfield in one piece, that is....
Posted by: Andrea Davidson | November 17, 2008 at 06:28 PM
HILARIOUS ARTICLE!! Thank you Bobby and Brett for... Taking one for the team!!
Posted by: callmemo | November 18, 2008 at 09:32 AM
Welcome back to Anaheim, boys. How was Sticksville?
Posted by: phil | November 18, 2008 at 10:28 AM