Senators' Ryan spent summer in Idaho to escape rumor mill

When you need to get away from it all, head to the Gem State.

That was the offseason destination of choice for Ottawa Senators winger Bobby Ryan, who, along with his wife and two children, packed his bags for quaint Coeur d'Alene, Idaho as a way to escape the rampant rumor mill.

"Honest to God, I wanted to throw a dart at the map and be off the grid as much as I could. Somewhere remote so nobody wanted to visit," Ryan told Sportsnet's Luke Fox. "There's no people. I need(ed) to get away from hockey for a couple months. I need(ed) to recharge."

Ryan's name was thrown around throughout the offseason as a possible addition to a potential Erik Karlsson trade.

Karlsson was ultimately shipped to the San Jose Sharks on Sept. 13, while Ryan, who has four years and $30 million remaining on the seven-year pact he signed in 2014, is still a Senator.

With Karlsson gone and the offseason in the rearview mirror, Ryan has returned to the Canadian capital for training camp and is ready to start anew after a 2017-18 campaign in which he tallied just 33 points.

There will be plenty of opportunity for Ryan, as the Senators usher in a new era with coach Guy Boucher readying a more offensive game.

"I'm really encouraged. I had a couple meetings with coach, and he showed me what's going to change, where we're going from here," Ryan said. "It's stuff I think our team will relate to and get. It's going to be very simple and it's going to work."