Ryan Dzingel

Playing career

Ryan Dzingel got his start in organized hockey at the 2005 Quebec International Pee-Wee Tournament, skating for the Chicago Mission. Later, while playing for the Lincoln Stars in the USHL, the Ottawa Senators selected him with the 204th overall pick in the NHL draft, and he opted to play college hockey at Ohio State University. During his time with the Buckeyes, Dzingel made history on January 10, 2014, by notching the first hat trick in Big Ten conference history, powering Ohio State to a 5-3 victory over Michigan State. His strong junior campaign earned him a spot on the 2013-14 All-Big Ten First Team. Rather than return for his senior year, he signed an entry-level contract with the Senators on April 2, 2014, and finished the season with their AHL farm team, the Binghamton Senators.

Dzingel finally made his NHL debut on December 22, 2015, stepping in for an injured Bobby Ryan against the Florida Panthers. He scored his first NHL goal a couple of months later, on February 16, 2016, in a shootout win over the Buffalo Sabres. His first full season in Ottawa came in 2016-17, where he put up 14 goals and 32 points over 81 games. The Senators locked him up with a two-year, $3.6 million contract on July 21, 2017, avoiding arbitration. The following season, playing alongside Matt Duchene, Dzingel posted career-best numbers—22 goals and 44 points in just 57 games. But after turning down a contract extension, he became trade bait.

On February 24, 2019, the Senators shipped Dzingel and a seventh-round pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Anthony Duclair and a pair of second-round selections. He managed four goals and 12 points in 21 regular-season games with Columbus, but only scored once in nine playoff contests. That summer, on July 12, 2019, he signed a two-year, $6.75 million deal with the Carolina Hurricanes as an unrestricted free agent. The pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season saw him struggle, with just two goals and four points in 11 games before the Hurricanes traded him back to Ottawa on February 13, 2021, in exchange for Alex Galchenyuk and Cédric Paquette. He finished out his contract with the Senators, adding six goals and nine points in 29 games. On July 28, 2021, Dzingel signed a one-year, $1.1 million contract with the Arizona Coyotes, his fourth NHL team, and recorded seven points in 26 appearances.