The news that Bobby Ryan is undergoing season-ending surgery did not come as a complete surprise. Earlier this week, head coach Paul MacLean confirmed that Ryan had been dealing with a nagging injury since November – our first tangible clue that the winger has not been 100 per cent healthy all season. But for the past few weeks, the whispers had been growing louder and louder that Ryan was playing hurt. When the club returned to practice after the Olympic break, the winger took a couple of maintenance days that raised a few eyebrows. Now that the club has confirmed he was playing for the past four months with a sports hernia injury, it forces us to reassess our opinion of Ryans first season in Ottawa. In a strange twist, every player involved in the massive Ducks-Senators trade from last summer suffered a significant injury this season. Jakob Silfverberg had a broken hand, Stefan Noesen tore the ACL in his knee and now Ryan is done with the sports hernia injury. (The Ducks may want to order some bubble wrap to protect their first round pick in the 2014 NHL Draft that they will receive from Ottawa). When he was famously left off the Team USA roster for the Olympics, many suggested that Ryan was crushed by the bad news and went into a prolonged slump. He scored just two goals in 12 games in the month of January and looked like a shadow of himself at times. Certainly, the Team USA snub hurt him on a personal level, but its rather obvious that the physical pain of a sports hernia injury was the bigger factor for his declining numbers. Ryans limited ice time was also a source of controversy in this market, as fans and media openly questioned MacLeans deployment of his No. 1 sniper. He was taken off a unit with Kyle Turris and Clarke MacArthur and was given third-line minutes instead. When the Sens were swept in Alberta earlier this month, Ryan played fewer than 15 minutes on each night – causing some to wonder aloud if there was a rift between star player and coach. In reality, the reduced ice time was likely the result of his nagging injury. In a statement to the media on Thursday, general manager Bryan Murray indicated that Ryan tried to play through the injury and doesnt appear to be concerned about how he was used by MacLean. "I know there were some times in games that he felt like he couldnt contribute very much but he stayed on the ice as required by the coaching staff and tried very hard to be a big factor for our team," Murray said. "I think he was and obviously we like that kind of person and want to treat him right in return." If you look at Ryans on-ice production from this season (time on ice to produce a point), you can see a significant drop-off once the calendar flipped to December: Month Time on ice/point October 20:32 November 16:17 December 24:42 January 33:10 February 46:40 March 41:47 Ryans struggles were a red flag for many Ottawa fans, who were concerned about his lack of productivity and compete level down the stretch. With a contract set to expire at the end of next season, there were more than a few fans who were suggesting it was time to move on from the 26-year-old winger. But now that we have a clear picture of Ryans health, its a little more accurate to say that his first season was not a complete disaster. The fact that he led this team in goal-scoring with 23 despite the injury is fairly impressive. Considering the recovery time from this injury is about six weeks, GM Bryan Murray says there is every reason to believe that Ryan will come into training camp next season ready to return to his 30-goal form. "Well, he certainly started very, very well. He shoots the puck awfully well, he scored some goals, his line obviously carried the team early on. He was a big part of that," Murray said. "I think after the hernia started to get aggravated a little bit, he seemed to shoot the puck a bit less. Overall, very happy and satisfied with his overall play and we know hell be a real contributor going forward." That last comment from the general manager seems like the one that carries the most weight moving into this summer. Nobody is certain if the Sens will lock up Ryan with a long-term extension in the coming months, but one thing is clear: this organization hasnt soured on him after a disappointing season in which he played hurt. PJ Tucker Jersey . 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Steve Francis Rockets Jersey . - The Kansas City Royals are hoping All-Star catcher Salvador Perez will be back in a few days.SOCHI, Russia -- Russian security officials are hunting down three potential female suicide bombers, one of whom is believed to be in Sochi, where the Winter Olympics will begin next month. Police leaflets seen by an Associated Press reporter at a central Sochi hotel on Tuesday contain warnings about three potential suicide bombers. A police letter said that one of them, Ruzanna Ibragimova, a 22-year-old widow of an Islamic militant, was at large in Sochi. A U.S. congressman who was in Sochi on Tuesday to assess the situation said he was impressed by the work of Russian security forces but troubled that potential suicide bombers had gotten into the city, despite all of the extraordinary security measures. "We know some of them got through the perimeter," Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee, told The Associated Press. "Shes for real. What we dont know is how many more black widows are out there." Russian authorities have blamed the so-called "black widows" of slain insurgents for previous suicide attacks in the country. The Black Sea resort town will host the games amid concerns about security and potential terrorist attacks. The southern city of Volgograd was rocked by two suicide bombings in late December, which killed 34 and injured scores more. An Islamic militant group in Dagestan posted a video on Sunday claiming responsibility for the bombings and threatened to strike the games in Sochi, about 500 kilometres (300 miles) west of Dagestan. McCaul, a Republican from Texas, said he had numerous meetings with officials in Moscow and Sochi, and was briefed by the joint operation centre in Sochi, which is responsible for overall security in the area. "The one improvement I would ask of the Russians is to allow our intelligence services to co-ordinate and co-operate better with theirs," McCaul said. Although the Russian side was confident that it could provide security, the U.S. has information that couldd help keep the games safe, he said.dddddddddddd The congressman also expressed concern that terrorists could have gotten into Sochi before security was tightened. "How many potential cells could be in Sochi and the Olympic village?" he said. "But after the ring of steel was implemented we have this one person who seems to have been able to penetrate it. It does demonstrate vulnerability." Police material distributed to the hotel staff included pictures of two other women in veils: 26-year-old Zaira Aliyeva and 34-year-old Dzhannet Tsakhayeva. It said they had been trained "to perpetrate acts of terrorism." It warned that the two women "are probably among us," but, unlike Ibragimovas case, did not say if they are in Sochi. No further information was provided about the two women or their motivation. The term "black widow" refers to the belief that women who have carried out past suicide attacks in Russia did so to avenge the deaths of husbands or other male relatives. Security officials in Sochi were not available for comment on Tuesday. The Olympics are to be held Feb. 7-23. Russia has mounted an intense security operation in the city, but concern persists that "soft targets" outside the Olympic venues, such as buses and tourist facilities, are vulnerable to attack. Russian troops also have been active fighting militants in Dagestan, one of the predominantly Muslim republics in Russias North Caucasus and the centre of an Islamic insurgency that has engulfed the region. On Tuesday, troops shot dead the leader of a militant group, Interior Ministry spokeswoman Fatina Ubaidatova said. She said the militant, Eldar Magatov, was wanted in attacks on security forces, bombings and the extortion of businessmen. Interior Ministry troops elsewhere in Dagestan defused an explosive device placed near a village administration building and engaged in a firefight with militants holed up in a house, the spokeswoman said. ' ' '