Former NHL Star Bobby Ryan Has Public Intoxication Charge Dismissed After Arrest

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Former NHL forward Bobby Ryan was arrested Monday at Nashville International Airport in Tennessee and charged with public intoxication, but the charge has already been dropped.

TMZ Sports reported Wednesday responding officers said Ryan had “slurred speech, bloodshot eyes and smelled strongly of an alcoholic beverage” when they made contact with him at the airport bar after he allegedly tried to steal items from a shop.

“Ryan was unaware of his location, the day or time and posed a danger to himself,” the officers wrote in a police report.

Ryan issued a statement on the arrest on Twitter:

Local prosecutors didn’t respond to TMZ’s request for comment about why the charge was dismissed.

Ryan stepped away from hockey in November 2019 to receive treatment for alcohol addiction through the joint NHL/NHL Players Association assistance program.

The New Jersey native, who was playing for the Ottawa Senators at the time, scored a hat trick in his second game after returning in February 2020 and went on to win the 2019-20 season’s Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which is awarded for “perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication” to hockey.

Ryan discussed his decision to seek help after returning to play for the Senators.

“I was trying the white-knuckle thing and do things the wrong way,” Ryan said in 2020. “I’d have 20 days of nothing and one real, bad one and you just can’t get better without help. There’s such a stigma around asking for help and I was trying to do it. I’ve done that for a long time.”

Now 35, the 2005 first-round pick hasn’t formally announced his retirement from the NHL, though he hinted his on-ice career is over in a December post on Twitter. He didn’t sign with a team during the 2021-22 season.

Ryan played 14 seasons after making his debut with the Anaheim Ducks during the 2007-08 campaign. He recorded 569 points (261 goals and 308 assists) across 866 regular-season appearances with the Ducks, Senators and Detroit Red Wings.

He also represented the United States at the international level, highlighted by winning a silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.