10/16: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports Ryan has safely cleared waivers allowing the Hurricanes to safely reassign him to their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves.
10/15: The Hurricanes have defenseman Joakim Ryan on waivers today, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. As such, he’s ready to be activated from season-opening injured reserve. He’s been out for the past few weeks with an undisclosed injury.
Ryan, 31, is attempting an NHL comeback after spending the last three seasons playing for Sweden’s Mälmo Redhawks. The left-shot defender played 145 games for the Hurricanes, Kings, and Sharks, posting 24 points and a +1 rating, before returning to his home country in 2021. He landed back with Carolina, where he spent his last season under an NHL contract, on a two-way deal as a free agent this offseason.
The 5’11”, 181-lb defender was historically a solid two-way option in the minors and overseas. He had some upward mobility in an NHL lineup, once averaging as much as 19:09 per game in his lone season in Los Angeles in 2019-20. But his point production in the last two seasons in Sweden was underwhelming, and he’s likely an AHL option at this stage of his career. If he clears, he’ll get that chance with the Chicago Wolves, where he had two assists in four games back in 2020-21 while in the Hurricanes organization.
With his NHL experience, though, Ryan could be an option for a mid-season call-up if injuries decimate Carolina’s defense corps. He’ll be a UFA next summer and will earn a salary of $110K while in the minors.
His home country is the USA, he grew up in New Jersey. His mom is from Sweden.