Edmonton Oilers Place Veteran Center on Waivers Today

The Oilers announced a couple of moves this afternoon after they lost 3-2 to the Vancouver Canucks last night.

The team has loaned Josh Brown to the Bakersfield Condors and has put veteran forward Derek Ryan on waivers, presumably with the goal of sending him to Bakersfield as well.

Ryan joins a rather large group of players that have been through waivers over the past week or so.

Last Monday, three players including two from the Minnesota Wild were put on waivers, and all of them cleared.

It is somewhat unusual for so many players to be going through the waiver wire at this point in the season but perhaps teams are starting to prepare for the upcoming trade deadline.

In the Oilers case though, it is not clear why Ryan was put on waivers.

The team has not announced any corresponding move.

That being said, the 38-year-old has not been an every day player for the team this season, nor has he been a key player when he has been in the lineup.

In 33 games this season, Ryan has just 1 goal and 5 points while averaging less than 10 minutes of ice time per game.

He also has 12 penalty minutes, nearly matching his shot total for the season, which is 17. He has a rating of -5.

In 603 career regular-season NHL games, Ryan has 82 goals and 208 points.

It hasn't been the flashiest career for him, but it has certainly been a very solid one for a 5'10" forward who was never drafted.

If this is the last time we see him in the NHL he can certainly be proud of what he accomplished.