Why the Flames should claim Derek Ryan off NHL waivers

Ryan was undrafted, playing for the University of Alberta Golden Bears for four seasons, as well as some time overseas in Austria and Sweden. The right-shot centre made his National Hockey League debut with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2015-16 as a 29-year-old, before scoring a career-high in 2017-18 with 15 goals and 38 points.

Before the 2018-19 season, Ryan signed with the Flames, where he had 25 goals and 80 points, matching his career-high of 38 points in 2018-19 where he scored 13 goals. After the 2020-21 season, he signed with their provincial rivals, the Oilers. In 2022-23, he scored 13 goals again and had 20 points in 80 games.

However, Ryan has lost a step over the past two seasons and the Oilers have an in-house option for their fourth-line centre in Noah Philip. Through 33 games this season, Ryan has a goal and five points in 33 games, following the 2023-24 season where he had five goals and 12 points in 70 games.

With that being said, there are still several reasons why a reunion makes sense for the Flames. For starters, the 38-year-old is a right-shot centre, a valuable player on the fourth line. Not just that, but Ryan is fantastic at face-offs, rocking a 60.3% this season, the best of his career. He’s never been below 50% in the regular season and has a career 55.2% win percentage in draws.

Although he’s lost a step, Ryan also played on the Oilers penalty kill, playing 11:25 minutes in those 33 games played, seventh among Oilers forwards. The Oilers’ penalty kill started off rough, but over the past two months they’ve been terrific and that included last off-season where they killed off over 30 straight penalties.

On top of all that, Ryan has a veteran presence. He may have started his NHL career late and in an unusual way, but he’s been in the league for 10 seasons now and has over 600 games with 82 goals and 208 points. Adding the grizzled veteran will help the Flames push for a post-season spot. As of now, they barely hang on to the final wild card spot, with 51 points, one ahead of the Vancouver Canucks and three ahead of the St. Louis Blues.

There’s minimal risk for the Flames with high reward. Ryan is in the final season of his contract where he has a cap hit of $900,000. The Flames are closer to the cap floor than they are to the ceiling, so fitting him in shouldn’t be an issue. Of course, it would also take a roster spot, meaning one of the young players like Jakob Pelletier or Rory Kerins may end up heading back to the AHL. Alternatively, Kevin Rooney or Walker Duehr may lose their spot.

Overall, the Flames should consider claiming Ryan for a veteran presence, his ability to win draws, familiarity, and his penalty kill ability. An added reason is that it messes with their provincial rivals’ depth as well, as I’m sure the Oilers would love to keep the fan-favourite around come playoff time.

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