Jan. 20: Ryan has cleared waivers and can be assigned to Bakersfield at will, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports Monday. That reassignment will pave the way for newly-signed defenseman John Klingberg to come off injured reserve when he’s ready to make his season debut.
Jan. 19: The Edmonton Oilers needed to make a few roster moves to stay cap-compliant thanks to newly-signed defenseman John Klingberg’s contract hitting the books today. According to a team announcement, the Oilers organization has placed depth forward Derek Ryan on waivers for reassignment to their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, and have additionally reassigned defenseman Josh Brown.
It’s an unfortunate transaction for Ryan as he’s entered the twilight years of his NHL career. Ryan made his way to the NHL at the age of 29 during the 2015-16 season after an impressive run through European leagues, showcasing one of the more underrated stories of the last decade. After a brief three-year run with the Carolina Hurricanes, Ryan has been a key depth forward in Alberta since the 2018-19 season with the Calgary Flames and the Oilers.
His offensive production has decreased steadily throughout the years, similarly to his average time on ice. Ryan neared the 40-point plateau in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons before hovering around the 20-point total from 2021 to 2023 in Edmonton. Last year saw his biggest decrease in scoring over a full season, with Ryan only scoring five goals and 12 points in 70 games. His only true value anymore is his role in the faceoff dot, as Ryan has averaged a 55.2% success rate over 5,072 career draws, which is even more impressive considering 53.3% of his shift starts have been in the defensive zone.
Joining Ryan on the road to AHL Bakersfield is Brown, albeit unencumbered by the waiver wire. He’s primarily served as organizational depth on the blue line for the Oilers this year on a relatively expensive price tag of $1MM for the next three years. He’s tallied one assist in eight games in Edmonton this season averaging 11:29 of ice time per game.
I’m very happy for Derek Ryan, And his relentless attitude, And his desire to never have givin’ up on his dream of being an NHLer. 603 games for a guy that was nearly 30 when got to the bigs.