Two years after he left the New York Rangers and three years after he last played at the NHL level, Ryan Malone is back on the ice.
The 37-year-old forward has landed a professional tryout with the Minnesota Wild in hopes of either reviving his NHL career or landing an American Hockey League contract, according to the Star Tribune.
As Michael Russo of the Tribune noted, Malone could very well be eyeing the AHL deal so he would be eligible to suit up for Team USA in the 2018 Winter Olympics -- an event NHL players have repeatedly been told they cannot attend.
A former 20-goal scorer with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Malone began his NHL career as a 1999 draft pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins and earned an All-Rookie Team honor in 2004. A six-time 40-point scorer who appeared in six games with the Rangers in 2014-15 before he was placed on waivers in the wake of off-ice bouts with substance abuse, he has some Minnesota ties thanks to a stint with St. Cloud State in the early 2000s.
Malone previously played in the Olympics, earning a silver medal with the United States team in 2010.