Ducks send Bobby Ryan to minors in salary-cap move

Ryan's premature departure is another price the Ducks are paying for Teemu Selanne and Scott Niedermayer, who sat out much of last season while mulling retirement after the Ducks won the Stanley Cup in 2007. Niedermayer returned in December, Selanne not until February, and while waiting for them to make up their minds, Burke was forced to hit the free-agent market and sign replacements Todd Bertuzzi and Mathieu Schneider.

The situation was further complicated when Selanne and Niedermayer decided to return this season. With Bertuzzi and Schneider still under contract, the Ducks faced a financial conundrum.

"That's where all our cap problems begin," Burke said. "I don't fault either [Selanne or Niedermayer]. I hope to God I have problems like this again."

The Ducks traded Schneider and fellow defenseman Sean O'Donnell to create cap space to re-sign Selanne, the team's all-time leading scorer. But despite the trades, they were still slightly above the league-mandated $56.7-million cap.

Ryan, the second overall pick in the 2005 draft, who scored two goals last week in the Ducks' exhibition opener, was vulnerable because he had a relatively large contract that would have paid a base salary of $821,700 plus $925,000 in performance bonuses, a salary-cap hit of just under $1.75 million. As a player who's under a two-way contract, he will make considerably less in the minors.

Burke said he promised Ryan he would bring him back up if he "dominates" at the minor league level. If not, he said he'd be willing to trade Ryan to another team.

dan.arritt@latimes.com