FEATURE: Ryan wants to finish his career on top with the Oilers

EDMONTON, AB - Derek Ryan is back with the Blue & Orange for the next two seasons and he comes in with only one goal in mind.

"I'd like nothing more than to finish out my career hoisting a Cup as an Edmonton Oiler," Ryan said while talking to 630 CHED's Bob Stauffer on Oilers Now. "And that's what I want to do."

The Oilers announced the 36-year-old's return earlier on Tuesday after Ryan signed a two-year extension with an annual average value of $900,000. For the Spokane, WA native who played his college hockey with the University of Alberta Golden Bears, the decision was deeply engrained in both the forward's Edmonton ties and a team he feels is on the cusp of doing something special.

"My family and I are excited. We have some roots that are set here in Edmonton," Ryan said. "My son plays minor hockey here and he's all signed up for the next year, my daughter does gymnastics and dance classes, my wife has [local ties], and we have our roots here. So we're excited to be back.

"It's a great fan base, a great organization, and obviously a lot to build on. I think there is a lot to come here in the future. I believe in that, and at the end of the day, we're happy to be here and to be back playing in front of these fans."

Ryan has taken a long and winding road to become the established NHL veteran he is today. After playing his Junior hockey in the Western Hockey League with his hometown Spokane Chiefs, he played a three-game stint with the Kalamazoo Wings -- one of the lone survivors of the now defunct United Hockey League (UHL) who currently plays in the ECHL -- before committing to both the game and a university education with the Golden Bears in Edmonton.

Stops in Austria and Sweden littered the way until he finally signed his first National Hockey League contract with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2015, and since then, Ryan hasn't looked back. The versatile forward played in his 500th NHL game in the final contest of the regular season this year -- a feat not many would have expected from an undrafted 5-foot-10 forward from a non-traditional hockey market who hadn't even played an American Hockey League game until he was 28 years old.

However, Ryan wasn't re-signed because he's a good story -- the eldest Oiler is still a contributor at both ends of the rink. He finished the 2022-23 season with the second most goals of his career with 13, had a plus/minus of +11, and finished at 50 per cent from the faceoff circle -- a mark he has never been below in his career. Ryan stated that numbers were important earlier in his career, but now that he is closer to the end than he is the beginning, he has one focus in mind.

"You worry about your numbers and your stats and getting contracts and solidifying yourself in the league, but for me now, and I'm sure a lot of older guys are veteran guys that have been around the league longer now, they realize that winning is what's more important to us," he said. "And if I can score goals and help the team, that's great, I'd love to do that. If I can kill penalties and help the team, if I can take faceoffs, if I can get pucks out along the wall as a winger, if I can take some shifts at centre to help our centremen have a little bit of a break, that's great too.

If I can play great defensively, whatever it is up and down the lineup, maybe even more importantly than all that, can I be a leader in the locker room? Can I be a voice that helps that leadership group in there that needs some help vocally?"

The goal for Ryan, as it is with everyone in the Oilers locker room, is Stanley Cup or bust. This year's squad seemed to be on the precipice of something great after having won 14 of their last 15 games and heading into the playoffs with a league leading offence and power play in tow. However, it is likely that for a second straight season, the Oilers dreams were dashed by the eventual Cup champions after being eliminated in the second round by the Vegas Golden Knights.

Regardless, Ryan believes that Northern Alberta is the place to be if he hopes to wrap up his pro career hoisting Lord Stanley.

"There's a lot of teams that are fighting for it, and there are no givens when it comes to winning Stanley Cups, but I think my best chances are here in Edmonton. So I'd love nothing more than to do that here," he said.

"I felt like last year when we lost in the Conference Final to Colorado, it felt like Colorado was maybe a step above us a little bit. This year, we obviously went a round shorter, but losing to Vegas in the second round it felt like we were right there. We had control of that series in different parts of it and we had chances to win and it felt like we were there. So it hurts a little bit more and leaves a little bit more of a pit in your stomach this year. I guess that could have, would have should have been us, and there are lots of teams that are saying that now, but that's why it just feels different for us or at least myself this year."

The versatile forward said that after conversations with his agent, he probably could have asked for a bit more per year following his sixth double-digit goal season of his seven-year career, but he was willing to take less to both stay in Edmonton and give General Manager and President of Hockey Operations Ken Holland some more salary cap manoeuvrability.

In return, Ryan received the stability of a two-year contract in a city where himself and his family are content. Despite turning 37 later this year, Ryan feels he has more than enough left in the tank to contribute and making the twilight years of a career that just as easily may not have been, be memorable ones.

"Ken {Holland} is here in Edmonton and gets to watch me skate every day and be around me and sees who I am as a pro, so he doesn't have a problem giving me a two-year deal because he sees who I am," Ryan said. "But to go back to the numbers, I guess the facts are for me and my family that we wanted to be here in Edmonton. We think it's a great place to be. I'm obviously not getting any younger. I'm 36 now, so it gets harder to want to pick up and move. We have kids that are nine and six, so that makes it hard; and probably most importantly, I said in the spring that I want to finish out my career as an Edmonton Oiler."