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Today we're taking a look at noted former Canadiens defenseman and current Maple Leafs press box hero Ryan O'Byrne. O'Byrne has been sacrificed to the press box in favor of Mike Kostka in recent games, but as Kostka is out with a broken finger, it's likely we'll see him return to the lineup tomorrow.
Bruins fans might remember O'Byrne from laughing at him in 2008 when he got arrested with force for grand theft in Tampa Bay -- he stole a woman's purse and was eventually released on $2000 bail. Really smrt there, buddy.
His twitter is pretty boring, but occasionally there's interesting things like, uh, this:
Blocked shot off the knee last night in San Jose..... twitter.com/ryanobyrne84/s…
— Ryan O'Byrne (@ryanobyrne84) February 27, 2013
Gross.
O'Byrne was acquired by the Maple Leafs at the trade deadline from the Colorado Avalanche. He scored his first goal as a Leaf on April 8, 2013. He's a UFA at the end of this year.
Here's O'Byrne's usage chart for the Leafs this year. He plays pretty sheltered minutes against pretty weak competition (really though, look at Dion Phaneuf up at the top there, dragging his team along with him. What is a defense, Toronto?) but can log a decent amount of ice time and has some playoff experience. Although I suppose anything is an upgrade over Mike "-4" Kostka, am I right Leafs fans?
I want some of whatever koolaid this guy is drinking
Any other #leafs fans jealous watching Subban and Karlsson. Dear God. Terrific players. They're No Ryan O'Byrne's, but pretty decent..
— Ryan Fabro (@RYANFABRO590) May 3, 2013
The Bottom Line: The Bruins shouldn't be too concerned with the addition of O'Byrne in lieu of Kostka. He's an infrequent scorer who will likely be paired with Jake Gardiner on the third pairing, and likely won't see the ice too much. He was a depth defenseman in Montreal, Colorado, and now Toronto; he's not a key piece of the Leaf's puzzle, and.....oh wait, he did this one time.