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Edmonton Oilers Sign Derek Ryan To Extension

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The Edmonton Oilers have signed forward Derek Ryan to a two-year contract extension worth $900,000 per season, the team announced Tuesday.

Ryan, 36, was slated for unrestricted free agency on July 1. The deal, which will be subject to 35+ rules given Ryan’s age, could contain performance bonuses for the veteran forward.

The last game of the 2022-23 regular season was Ryan’s 500th, a remarkable feat for a player who didn’t make his NHL until age 29. He did well enough in a bottom-six role for Edmonton, scoring 13 goals and 20 points in 80 games while adding three points in 11 playoff games.

Ryan was born and developed in Spokane, Washington, where he played his junior hockey with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs. His numbers there were solid but never spectacular, though, and given his 5-foot-10 height, his play didn’t warrant a draft selection from most NHL teams in the mid-2000s.

He then played a full four seasons at the University of Alberta, where he did dominate the scoresheet, recording 146 points in 109 games from 2007 to 2011. Upon wrapping up his collegiate career, though, Ryan was already 24 and opted to turn pro in Europe rather than taking a minor-league deal.

It ended up being the best decision of his life, producing well over a point per game in three seasons in Austria’s EBEL league (now the ICEHL) before getting some larger market exposure with SHL team Örebro HK in 2014-15. His 60 points in 55 games there, along with a +18 rating, garnered some interest in the NHL free agent market, where the Carolina Hurricanes snapped him up.

Ryan was then immediately named captain of their AHL affiliate at the time, the Charlotte Checkers, and led them in scoring in his first season there with 55 points in 70 contests. Ryan was then called up to the team full-time early into the 2016-17 campaign and hasn’t looked back since, becoming one of the more stable bottom-six, two-way forwards in the league.

Ryan would have surely found a home on the open market had Edmonton opted not to re-sign him, but he’s one of the most complete and consistent players the Oilers have on their third and fourth lines. Locked in until he’s 38 years old, though, this is likely Ryan’s last NHL contract.

Oilers Have Inquired About Travis Konecny

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The Oilers are among the teams that have inquired about the availability of Flyers winger Travis Konecny, reports Kurt Leavins of the Edmonton Journal.  It’s expected that Edmonton will shop around to try to find a forward upgrade but fitting in Konecny’s contract, one that has two years left on it at $5.5MM, would be tricky given their own cap situation.  The 26-year-old tied his career high in points this season with 61 despite missing 22 games down the stretch due to an upper-body injury.  With Philadelphia appearing to be heading for a rebuild, it stands to reason that GM Daniel Briere will be fielding plenty of calls about his leading scorer in the coming weeks.

Raphael Lavoie Could Push For Roster Spot In 2023-24

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  • With Edmonton almost certainly needing to rely on several cheap players to round out its roster next season, Postmedia’s Robert Tychkowski suggests that prospect Raphael Lavoie could push for a spot in the lineup in 2023-24. The 22-year-old was a second-round pick back in 2019 (39th overall) but has yet to see NHL action over his first three professional seasons.  However, Lavoie bounced back from an early injury to have a strong second half, allowing him to post 25 goals and 20 assists in 61 games with AHL Bakersfield.  A pending restricted free agent, Lavoie will likely be asked to sign for below his qualifying offer to increase his chances of breaking camp with the Oilers.  If he doesn’t make the team though, Lavoie would have to pass through waivers to get back to the Condors next season.

NHL Announces 2023 King Clancy Trophy Finalists

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In just under three weeks from today, the 2023 NHL Awards show will take place at Bridgestone Arena, home of the Nashville Predators. Most of the award finalists have been announced up to this point, however; there are still some to get through.

This afternoon, the NHL announced the three finalists for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, annually awarded to the player that “best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community“. This season, the three finalists will be Mikael Backlund (Calgary Flames), Anders Lee (New York Islanders), and Darnell Nurse (Edmonton Oilers).

As in the description, this award is heavily weighted in humanitarian work off the ice, and these three players have no shortage of that. In Backlund’s case, he and his wife have raised over $400K for the ALS Society of Alberta, a disease that his wife’s mother passed away from. Aside from that, Backlund has also been heavily involved with The Kids Cancer Care, Special Olympics Calgary, and Parachutes for Pets.

For Lee, the current captain of the Islanders, the veteran forward has become involved with a non-profit called “Jam Kancer in the Kan”, which is dedicated to helping families and children dealing with cancer. Since Lee’s involvement, the company has raised well over $2MM for families dealing with the disease. Additionally, Lee has been helping college students with academic scholarships over the last several years.

Nurse’s involvement with the community has been primarily focused on diversity and inclusion in athletics. Working for “Free Play for Kids”, Nurse has helped underprivileged communities in Canada gain access to sports in a safe and accessible way. Nurse also has a scholarship of his own, setting up the Excellence Scholarship in 2021, which is given to two students pursuing post-secondary education, annually.

Regardless of who wins this award, these three players, among others, have helped their communities in pretty incredible ways. The winner will receive a $25K donation to a charity of their choice, while the other two finalists will receive a $5K donation each.

No Unexpected Cap Increase Likely Cements Bridge Deal For Bouchard

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  • Gary Bettman’s recent confirmation that the Upper Limit of the salary cap is only set to go up by $1MM isn’t ideal for most teams but Kurt Leavins of the Edmonton Journal argues that it at least gives the Oilers some certainty as it pertains to defenseman Evan Bouchard. The 23-year-old is coming off his second straight season of at least 40 points and was quite productive in the playoffs, notching 17 points in 12 games; he still leads all playoff blueliners in scoring despite being ousted in the second round.  With Edmonton’s cap situation, they’re basically stuck doing a bridge contract with Bouchard, an outcome that’s basically cemented with the recent cap confirmation.

McLeod's Contract Talks Could Be Tricky For Oilers

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  • Bruce McCurdy of the Edmonton Journal pegs Ryan McLeod’s next contract as a potentially tricky negotiation for the Oilers. The 23-year-old had a decent showing in Edmonton’s bottom six this season, setting new career highs in goals (11) and points (23) despite only playing in 57 games.  McLeod is now arbitration-eligible this summer and with 138 career NHL regular season appearances under his belt, has enough of a track record to land a decent-sized raise on the $798K he made in 2022-23.  Cap space is once again limited for the Oilers this summer so it might take some time for both sides to find the sweet spot on what’s likely to be another short-term agreement.

Free Agent Focus: Edmonton Oilers

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Free agency is a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens.  There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Edmonton Oilers.

Key Restricted Free Agents

D Evan Bouchard – Bouchard is coming off back-to-back 40+ point seasons and was an absolute wrecking ball on the powerplay in the playoffs for the Oilers as he put up four goals and 13 assists in just 12 games. Now those numbers are staggering, however all but two of those points came with the man advantage.

If the Oilers had infinite cap space, they would likely prefer to get their budding offensive defenseman on a long-term contract, however given their cap constraints they will likely need to look at a bridge deal for 2-3 years. There are plenty of recent comparables for Bouchard with Noah Dobson being the most recent. A two-year deal with an average annual value around $4MM appears like the likeliest of outcomes for Bouchard this summer.

F Klim Kostin – Kostin was finally able to make an impact at the NHL level after several years of struggling to break through from the AHL. The former first round pick had never topped nine points in any NHL season prior to this past year with Edmonton, he settled into a bottom-6 role after coming over in a trade from the St. Louis Blues and was able to post 11 goals and 10 assists in 57 games. The intriguing thing about Kostin is his skill set, he is better suited for a role on a skill line but saw very little of that this year as he rarely played with Connor McDavid and saw just 17 minutes with Leon Draisaitl (in which he scored twice). Edmonton will have a full training camp with Kostin and could have an opportunity to try him on a skill line to see if they can find a fit for a player who will be on a miniscule cap number. Edmonton was apprehensive to try Kostin on the top lines this season due to his struggles away from the puck, but with nothing on the line to start the year, it’ll be an experiment worth conducting. Kostin is likely due for a one-year contract that will be around $1MM.

C Ryan McLeod – McLeod has topped 20 points in back-to-back seasons while toiling away in the Oilers bottom six. He is a former second-round pick who was one of the few Oilers in the bottom six who could move the puck with both speed and purpose. While he is strong with the puck his defensive metrics leave a bit to be desired. McLeod is young and is likely just scratching the surface of what he could be for Edmonton long term. He is arbitration eligible this summer meaning that McLeod will have some leverage when it comes to his contract negotiations. He is coming off a season in which he posted 11 goals and 12 assists in 57 games so he won’t break the bank, however his next contract could eat into 1/3 of Edmonton’s remaining cap space.

Other RFAs: F Raphael Lavoie, F Noah Philp, G Olivier Rodrigue

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Nick Bjugstad – Bjugstad came over to the Oilers before the trade deadline and was just okay. He put up six points in 18 regular season games with the club and followed it up with three goals in 12 playoff games as the Oilers were dropped in the second round. This is the third time Bjugstad will test free agency in the past three years, but the first time he will do so coming off a season in which he topped 20 points. Bjugstad once looked like he would develop into a power forward but has never been able to assert himself in that way. He is a good bottom six option at this point in his career but likely one that has priced himself out of Edmonton’s plans.

C Derek Ryan – Ryan played admirably for the Oilers this season as their fourth line center putting up 13 goals and seven assists in 80 games. While it was a drop off in numbers from the year prior, Ryan was still a big part of a much-improved bottom six for Edmonton. Ryan is undersized and at 36 years old his best games are likely behind him, however if he’s willing to come back at a cap hit that is comparable to the $1.25MM he made last season, it is something the Oilers should explore. Ryan can still kill penalties and take a lot of the defensive zone draws, and if he can continue to chip in the odd goal it would be worth the minimal investment.

F Mattias Janmark – It feels like Janmark has been in the league forever but the Stockholm, Sweden native is just 30 years old. Janmark signed a one-year deal with Edmonton last summer and provided decent value on a $1.25MM AAV as he put up 10 goals and 15 assists in 66 games. Those kinds of numbers have been typical for Janmark as he has put up between 21-25 points in five straight seasons. At this point Janmark is what he is, a depth forward who can chip in offence from time to time.  Janmark will likely seek a comparable contract this offseason but given Edmonton’s cap constraints they may look elsewhere to see if they can find better value.

Other UFAs: F Justin Bailey, F Tyler Benson, D Jason Demers, D Slater Koekkoek, D Oscar Klefbom, F Devin Shore, D Ryan Murray, G Mike Smith

Projected Cap Space

Edmonton has precious little cap room to fill out their roster as they currently have just under $6MM in space and 17 players signed for next season. Filling out their roster with quality players is going to be difficult and as evidenced in the playoffs, this is a flawed hockey team that needs to upgrade in several key positions. Ken Holland has said he will return to the helm for their final season of his contract, and it may be his final kick at the can since he has been unable to get the Oilers over the hump and they have many of the same shortcomings they had when he took over the club four years ago.

The club has committed big money to Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl but both men are still playing on favorable contracts given their talent level. The Oilers have them locked up for a few more seasons but they are running out of time to build a Stanley Cup contender despite having two of the best players in the world.  The Oilers will need to make good use of their limited cap space and in a perfect world would be able to shed a bad contract or two. It’s going to be a busy summer in Edmonton as they look to regroup after another disappointing playoff exit.

 Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Oilers Notes: Yamamoto, Bouchard, Ryan, Free Agency

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After a disappointingly early playoff exit, the Edmonton Oilers are headed into another pivotal offseason. Desperate to build a Stanley Cup contender around the team’s two all-world talents, the Oilers don’t have a ton of cap space to add reinforcements to their roster, so they’ll need to get creative in finding ways to support their existing stars. One avenue the team could go down is moving a player taking up a decent amount of cap space, namely 2017 first-round pick Kailer Yamamoto. The 24-year-old is set to make $3.1MM against the cap next season yet provided the Oilers with just 25 points in 58 games this season.

The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman reports that the Oilers are “leaning toward moving” Yamamoto and are hoping they can find a team willing to acquire the player “without the Oilers having to retain salary or offer a sweetener.” (subscription link) Yamamoto did manage 20 goals and 41 points last season, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that a team would have interest in him as a bounce-back candidate. In the case that trade interest does not materialize, though, Nugent-Bowman does note that the Oilers “appear open to buying out Yamamoto,” a move that would save them $2.6MM this season at the cost of $533k in dead cap next summer.

Some other notes regarding the Oilers:

  • One of the significant reasons the team would likely hope to create some cap space via a Yamamoto departure would be to clear room for contract extensions for the Oilers’ top restricted free agent: defenseman Evan Bouchard. The 23-year-old 2018 10th overall pick has hit 40 points in each of the last two seasons and is coming off of an extremely productive playoff run that saw him post 17 points in just 12 games. Nugent-Bowman writes that the Oilers are likely to pursue a bridge contract with Bouchard, as “anything more than two years appears unlikely.” Noah Dobson, another 2018 top pick, had comparable scoring numbers to Bouchard last summer and secured a three-year, $4MM AAV pact. That could be a deal used as a reference point for these negotiations.
  • 36-year-old veteran center Derek Ryan performed admirably as the Oilers’ fourth-line center this past season, scoring 13 goals and 20 points in 80 games while contributing to his team’s penalty kill. Nugent-Bowman reports that “there is mutual interest in Ryan returning to the Oilers,” and that “it’s hard to see how something isn’t figured out there” to bring the 500-game NHL veteran back to Edmonton. Such a move would provide valuable continuity to the Oilers’ bottom-six, while also serving as a nice reward for Ryan’s hard work.
  • While the Oilers have made significant early free-agency investments in recent years, specifically in the signings of Jack Campbell and Zach Hyman, don’t expect a similar move by the time the free agent frenzy comes around later this summer. Nugent-Bowman reports that there will “be no Zach Hyman-type offer issued to anyone” at the start of free agency and that it’s far more likely that the Oilers will target an “undervalued or underperforming young player” who they can add on a cheap contract, or a “bargain bin” veteran talent who can be the right fit for a specific role in head coach Jay Woodcroft’s plans at an affordable cap hit.

Oilers Won't Sign Patrik Puistola

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  • The Oilers are not expected to sign prospect Patrik Puistola in advance of tomorrow’s deadline, reports Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal (Twitter link). The 22-year-old was acquired as part of the Jesse Puljujarvi deal back in February and had a strong season with Jukurit in Finland’s top division, notching 40 points in 60 games.  However, Puistola is already under contract overseas through next season meaning Edmonton would have had to wait even longer to get him in North America.

Edmonton Oilers Acquire; Sign Jayden Grubbe

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3:07 PM: Shortly thereafter, the Oilers announced that Grubbe has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the organization. The deal will run until the end of the 2025-26 NHL season. The contract will also carry an AAV of $925K in the NHL, and an AAV of $80K in the AHL.

12:04 PM: With tomorrow’s deadline approaching for many expiring draft rights, a few last-minute dealings may be made. The Edmonton Oilers have done just that, acquiring Jayden Grubbe from the New York Rangers in exchange for a 2023 fifth-round pick. If not signed by tomorrow evening, Grubbe’s rights would no longer belong to the Oilers.

The fact that they made this trade suggests that an entry-level contract will soon follow, though it has not yet been announced. Grubbe, 20, was a third-round pick of the Rangers in 2021 but still hasn’t taken the jump to elite production in the junior level, despite his NHL size.

In 2021-22 he had just 14 goals and 35 points in 68 games, and while this year was better—18 goals and 67 points in 64 games—it may still not have been enough to make the Rangers interested in offering him a deal.

That, or perhaps the Alberta native didn’t see a future for himself in the Rangers organization. He’ll now get a chance to sign closer to home, and start his professional career with the Oilers minor league system.

Standing 6’3″, Grubbe has shown some flashes, but has a long way to go before making an impact at the NHL level. The fact that the Rangers landed a fifth-round pick for him is rather impressive, given how close they were to losing him for nothing.

From the Oilers perspective, this may have been their best chance at landing the young forward. Should Grubbe’s rights expire, he could re-enter the draft. If they were willing to spend a fifth (or higher) on him anyway, it makes sense to do the deal ahead of tomorrow’s deadline.

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