Oilers place Derek Ryan on waivers; loan Josh Brown

The Edmonton Oilers announced on Sunday that they’ve placed center Derek Ryan on waivers and loaned defenseman Josh Brown to their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors.

The moves come in the wake of the Oilers signing defenseman John Klingberg to a one-year, $1,755,056 contract on Friday. Klingberg was placed on injured reserve on Saturday in order to give the Oilers time to make room on their NHL roster for the defenseman, and it appears that Ryan and Brown have both been sent down to the minors to do so.

Ryan hasn’t been overly productive this season for the Oilers, even in a fourth-line role, as he has 1 goal and 4 assists for 5 points in 33 games. Even with a still-solid defensive game with 2.3 5v5 on-ice expected goals against per 60 minutes, he’s still getting out-chanced overall with a 46.64% 5v5 expected goal share (xGF%), according to Evolving Hockey.

Ryan is in the final year of a two-year contract with a $900,000 cap hit, and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

Brown doesn’t require waivers as he’s spent most of his season in the AHL and already cleared waivers to do so. He’s played only 8 games with the Oilers, where he has just one assist, while he has 3 assists in 20 games with the Condors in the AHL. He’s been one of the Oilers’ worst players at driving chances when he has played this season, with a 38.24% 5v5 xGF% that’s the third-worst on the team.

Brown is in the first year of a three-year contract with a $1 million cap hit with the Oilers.

The Oilers currently sit in second in the Pacific Division with a 29-14-3 record. They’ll look to bounce back from a 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks when they host the Washington Capitals on Tuesday at 7 p.m. EST.