The Edmonton Oilers have re-signed Derek Ryan to a two-year deal with an AAV of $900,000.
Welcome back, Derek 👏 pic.twitter.com/dUECcjLdDC
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) June 13, 2023
While Derek Ryan is currently 36 years old he doesn’t have that many NHL miles on his body compared to most other players that are that age. Derek Ryan didn’t play his first NHL game till 2015-2016 when he was 29.
| Season | Age | Team | Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 29 | CAR | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2016-17 | 30 | CAR | 67 | 11 | 18 | 29 | -8 |
| 2017-18 | 31 | CAR | 80 | 15 | 23 | 38 | -15 |
| 2018-19 | 32 | CGY | 81 | 13 | 25 | 38 | 21 |
| 2019-20 | 33 | CGY | 68 | 10 | 19 | 29 | 9 |
| 2020-21 | 34 | CGY | 43 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 6 |
| 2021-22 | 35 | EDM | 75 | 10 | 12 | 22 | -4 |
| 2022-23 | 36 | EDM | 80 | 13 | 7 | 20 | 11 |
| 2015-18 | CAR | 153 | 28 | 41 | 69 | -22 | |
| 2018-21 | CGY | 192 | 25 | 55 | 80 | 36 | |
| 2021-23 | EDM | 155 | 23 | 19 | 42 | 7 | |
| Career | 8 yrs | 500 | 76 | 115 | 191 | 21 |
Provided by Hockey-Reference.com Generated 6/14/2023.
In his 500 career games, Ryan has 76 goals and 115 assists. Ryan is not on this team to put the puck in the net and rack up points. He is one of the Edmonton Oilers most reliable forwards. I can’t remember a play at all in his time here when he was directly responsible for a goal against.
I wrote earlier in the offseason that if the Edmonton Oilers would sign him for around $1 million it would be a good deal for both Derek Ryan and the Edmonton Oilers. The main thing this signing does for me is it makes it more likely that the Edmonton Oilers will not be bringing back Nick Bjugstad.
Bringing Back The Same Edmonton Oilers Team Is Okay
There are a lot of people that are going to want to see changes to last year’s Edmonton Oilers roster. I don’t think there are many changes that need to be made. The Edmonton Oilers lost to the eventual Stanely Cup champions which means they are close.
There are a few things the Edmonton Oilers need to be better at, but I don’t think different players are going to really help in those areas. The Oilers just need to play smarter, they have the skill they just need to apply it the right way.
This is why I think the Derek Ryan re-signing is a smart play. As I noted before he plays fairly mistake-free hockey. When he does make a mistake it doesn’t put his team in a bad position. This is the way this whole team needs to play.