After receiving interest from 20 teams, it appears center Derek Ryan is off to Calgary. TSN’s Frank Seravalli reports (Twitter link) that the Flames are in agreement with Ryan on a three-year contract. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman adds (via Twitter) that the deal carries an approximate cap hit of $3.125MM.
It has been quite the journey for 31-year-old. After going undrafted, he decided to the Canadian college route where he spent four years before heading off to Austria for three more seasons. A stint in the SHL back in 2014-15 got him on the NHL radar and the Hurricanes signed him to a two-way deal the following season.
Since then, Ryan has emerged as a dependable secondary scorer. Last season, he posted 15 goals and 23 assists in 80 games while winning 56.5% of his faceoffs, solid numbers for a third liner which is where he will likely line up in Calgary. We ranked him 22nd in our Top 50 UFA list and had projected that he would sign with the Flames.
With the move, he will be reunited with his former head coach Bill Peters, who left Carolina to join the Flames earlier this offseason. He’ll also be back with a couple of familiar teammates as Calgary picked up defenseman Noah Hanifin and forward Elias Lindholm in a draft day deal last weekend.
Hurricanes roster needed an overhaul. Letting Bill Peters go is already paying rewards.
So do this mean Tavares is going to Toronto? I heard Ryan was their plan B and they told him to wait until after the Tavares decision.