Though Derek Ryan loved his time with the Edmonton Oilers, he wasn’t necessarily a big fan of how his tenure — and career — came to an end.
Ryan, who recently confirmed his retirement from professional hockey, spent the past four seasons with the Oilers. He spent 261 of his 606 games with the organization, which he recently told Bob Stauffer on Oilers Now that he is extremely thankful for. That said, he is a little bitter about how the 2024-25 season played out.
The 38-year-old started the season out with the Oilers, but was placed on waivers in mid-January. He wound up spending a brief period of time with the Bakersfield Condors before rejoining the Oilers late in the season. After logging 19 games in the 2024 playoffs, however, he sat out this past year’s entire run.
Though Ryan seemed understanding of not dressing during the playoffs, he felt other things throughout the season could have been handled better by management and the coaching staff.
“I’m not ignorant to the fact that I’m playing in the NHL and that’s the best league in the world,” Ryan said. “There’s not many players that get to choose when they’re done playing in the NHL, usually the NHL chooses when it’s done with you.
“It was a little bitter for me just because of how things were handled with the new management, the somewhat new coaching staff and just kind of the brick work that I had laid with that group. The blood, sweat, and tears that I had given with that group in three and a half years, just to have it brushed under the rug, is pretty disappointing. I don’t think it would have been that way if the management wouldn’t have changed.”
As Ryan is alluding to, former GM Ken Holland departed the organization following the 2023-24 season and was replaced by Stan Bowman shortly after.
Despite not being thrilled with how he went out, Ryan also had some high praise for the Oilers, and specifically Connor McDavid, who he says he considers one of his good friends.
Overall, it was a fantastic career for Ryan, who never made his NHL debut until the age of 29. He finishes his career with 82 goals and 209 points that saw him suit up for the Carolina Hurricanes, Calgary Flames, and, of course, the Oilers.