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Ryan O'Reilly

Nashville Predators Issue Injury Updates

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The Nashville Predators will be looking for their eighth win of the season tonight without a few key players. The organization announced center Ryan O’Reilly is week-to-week with a lower-body injury and that defenseman Jeremy Lauzon has been placed on the injured reserve. The only player Nashville will receive back tonight is forward Michael McCarron, who’s been activated from the injured reserve.

It’s an insult to injury for a team that has struggled to score this season. Nashville’s first line of Filip Forsberg, O’Reilly, and Gustav Nyquist has led the team with a 55.8% xGoals% in 175 minutes and represents three of the top-six highest-scoring forwards on the roster.

O’Reilly has been a large part of that line’s success. He’s won 55.2% of nearly 500 faceoffs despite most of his draws coming in the offensive zone. He’s only managed five goals and 14 points through 26 games this season but is shooting one percentage point higher than his career average.

The Predators will try newcomer Steven Stamkos on the first line in O’Reilly’s stead. He’s not nearly as good as O’Reilly in the faceoff dot but has held his own throughout his career. The one issue that could arise is Forbserg and Stamkos are both shoot-first players which could cause some chemistry issues on the top line.

McCarron’s return reintroduces some size to the team’s fourth line. McCarron won’t help the team alleviate their goal-scoring issues as he’s only scored two goals and four points in 18 games. Still, he brings a physical presence to his game which is always useful toward the bottom of the lineup.

Lauzon’s lower-body injury strikes as an addition by subtraction for the Predators. He’s maintained his physicality this year with 103 hits in 22 games but hasn’t done much aside from that. Head coach Andrew Brunette finally separated the defensive pairing of Lauzon and Alexandre Carrier but the former still seems like he needs a reset.

Edmonton Oilers Make Changes To Scouting Staff

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The Edmonton Oilers announced today that they have made several changes to their scouting staff as the team gears up for training camp. The club has named Rick Pracey as Director of Amateur Scouting while mutually parting ways with Tyler Wright.

The 52-year-old Pracey has been an amateur scout with the Philadelphia Flyers since 2014 and brings over 20 years of scouting experience to Edmonton. He has previously worked as a Director of Amateur Scouting with the Colorado Avalanche, a role he served in from 2008-14 during which time the team selected Tyson Barrie, Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, Ryan O’Reilly, and Matt Duchene.

A native of Hamilton, Ontario, Pracey’s professional playing career was short-lived as he played college hockey in Canada for both the University of Windsor and Wilfrid Laurier University, as well as a one-year stint in the UHL. After his playing career was over, Pracey joined the Avalanche in 2001 in an amateur scouting role and built his career from there.

For Tyler Wright, he moves on after just over four years with the Oilers. The 50-year-old came over to Edmonton in July 2019 along with Ken Holland after working alongside Holland with the Detroit Red Wings for six seasons. He served as Director of Amateur Scouting for all four years and was in the same role with the Red Wings for over six years.

It will be interesting to see where he lands given that the move was a mutual one for Wright and the Oilers. Wright’s work likely went by the wayside this year as the Oilers drafted just three players in June’s NHL entry draft after trading away picks in the Mattias Ekholm and Kailer Yamamoto trades.

Nashville Predators To Sign Ryan O’Reilly

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The Nashville Predators have made the biggest splash of the day so far, signing former Conn Smythe Trophy winner Ryan O’Reilly to a four-year contract worth $4.5MM per season, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

While many expected the trade of Ryan Johansen to Colorado and yesterday’s Matt Duchene buyout to signal a rebuild-like direction for Nashville under new GM Barry Trotz, today’s signings of O’Reilly and defenseman Luke Schenn suggest otherwise.

At 32 years of age, adding a Conn Smythe winner in Ryan O’Reilly is firmly a win-now signing. O’Reilly is at his most valuable in the postseason, and is talents would be wasted on a club building for some distant future rather than an immediate playoff run.

O’Reilly has long been regarded as one of the top two-way centers in hockey, though his form in St. Louis earlier this season did raise some concerns about how his offense will age as he gets deeper into his thirties. O’Reilly scored 58 points in 2021-22 but just 19 in 40 games to start the year with the Blues.

He did fare much better after a mid-season deal to Toronto, so Nashville will undoubtedly be hoping that his Toronto form is more indicative of what they’ll be getting for the next four years.

If nothing else, the addition of O’Reilly will be a huge benefit to the Predators’ current crop of inexperienced young centers, such as Cody Glass, Juuso Parssinen, and Thomas Novak. If O’Reilly can help those pivots grow into quality NHLers while also playing up to the standard he’s established throughout his career, a $4.5MM price tag will feel like a bargain.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Ryan O’Reilly And Luke Schenn Expected To Test The Market

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The Maple Leafs were hoping to keep a pair of their pending unrestricted free agents in the fold but it may not play out that way.  Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that center Ryan O’Reilly will test the market today while Chris Johnston of NorthStar Bets and TSN adds (Twitter link) that defenseman Luke Schenn will do the same.

O’Reilly was one of Toronto’s key trade deadline acquisitions, coming over in a trade from St. Louis.  The 32-year-old fit in well with his hometown team, picking up 11 points in 13 games down the stretch while winning 62% of his faceoffs.  O’Reilly then put up nine points in 11 playoff contests, cementing himself as one of the top middlemen on the open market; he ranks seventh on our Top 50 UFA list.

LeBrun notes that the Maple Leafs had interest right to the end so it’s possible that the veteran circles back depending on how his market plays out today.  That said, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Detroit, Montreal, Nashville, and Vancouver are all linked to O’Reilly as well so there could be enough interest to push his price tag out of Toronto’s price range.

As for Schenn, Johnston reports that again, there was mutual interest in getting something done but the level of interest in the 33-year-old has yielded an offer from another team that’s too strong for the Maple Leafs to match.  Schenn matched his career high in points with 22 last season and chipped in with a career-high 318 hits.  After playing for the last four seasons on contracts worth less than $1MM, that seems sure to change today for the 37th-ranked UFA on our list.

Morning Notes: Hellebuyck, O’Reilly, DeBrincat

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Mark down the New Jersey Devils as a major player in the Connor Hellebuyck trade sweepstakes, says Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic. The 30-year-old Vezina-caliber netminder is on the trade block after informing the Winnipeg Jets he won’t sign an extension, and LeBrun says there’s mutual interest between the netminder and the Devils in a long-term agreement. Hellebuyck has gone on a remarkable run since becoming Winnipeg’s starter, leading in the league in either games played or saves made for six straight seasons. The workhorse netminder would be a massive, immediate upgrade on Vitek Vanecek, who did have a solid 2022-23 campaign but can struggle heavily with consistency. LeBrun adds, though, that New Jersey likely won’t pursue a sign-and-trade if Hellebuyck is demanding around $9.5MM on an extension, as previously reported.

More notes from LeBrun as free agency draws closer:

  • The door hasn’t closed on a Ryan O’Reilly return to the Toronto Maple Leafs, LeBrun says. The veteran center is keeping all of his options open, with a weak center class on the open market likely driving up his value despite a down season in 2022-23. He could very well price himself out of a return, but LeBrun reports Toronto general manager Brad Treliving has expressed interest to O’Reilly’s camp in having him come back after a stretch of solid play. Multiple sources have suggested the 32-year-old is in line for a short-term (but multi-year) deal north of $5MM, which may not be attainable for the Leafs, considering they have at least five forward spots to fill (and an extension for netminder Ilya Samsonov).
  • Reporting earlier this week suggested Alex DeBrincat had a set list of teams he’d be willing to accept a long-term sign-and-trade deal with, but LeBrun says other teams have “given DeBrincat’s camp some things to think about” with their inquiries. With the market expanding, Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion seems content to let this play out for a better return, and LeBrun reports he’s more than willing to accept a 2024 first-round pick to get a deal done rather than limiting himself to finishing the trade process before the 2023 draft next week. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch had named Dallas, Detroit, Florida, Nashville, and Vegas as specific teams DeBrincat had an interest in.

Atlantic Injury Notes: Hall, O’Reilly, Harvey-Pinard

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Boston Bruins winger Taylor Hall practiced on Wednesday and wore a regular jersey for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury in late February. The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa tweeted the news, which is a positive sign for the team as they gear up for the playoffs.

Hall has been an integral part of the Bruins’ depth scoring since being acquired in an April 2021 trade with the Buffalo Sabres. He has scored 16 goals and added 20 assists in 58 games this year, giving Boston a skilled option far down the lineup, often in a third-line role. With quite literally nothing left to play for until the playoffs begin on April 17, the Bruins are likely hoping to get Hall back into game action for at least one or two matchups before the postseason commences. They’ll need to perform some salary cap gymnastics to do so, however, with the team currently using Hall’s $6MM cap hit on long-term injured reserve to remain cap-compliant.

  • Ryan O’Reilly of the Toronto Maple Leafs was also back at practice today, as reported by David Alter of The Hockey News. The veteran center was seen wearing a regular jersey, signaling a potential impending return to the lineup. O’Reilly has been out of action for the past 14 games due to a finger injury sustained during a game against the Vancouver Canucks on March 4. O’Reilly, 32, had three goals and five points in eight games with Toronto after a mid-season blockbuster trade from the St. Louis Blues and is expected to dress in the bottom six when he does return to the lineup.
  • Montreal Canadiens forward Rafael Harvey-Pinard was seen on the ice wearing a non-contact jersey for practice, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. Harvey-Pinard, who was called up by the Canadiens on January 17, has missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury. The 24-year-old Quebec product has broken out since the callup, recording 14 goals and 19 points in 32 games while receiving top-six minutes.

Snapshots: Clarke, O’Reilly, Rousek

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Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News reports that Los Angeles Kings’ prospect Brandt Clarke will take home Player and Defenseman of the Month honors for the month of March in the Ontario Hockey League. In just nine games, playing for the Barrie Colts, Clarke put up an extremely impressive 11 goals and 11 assists, all while carrying a +/- of 16.

Drafted eighth overall in the 2021 NHL Draft, Clarke has spent the majority of his last four seasons playing in Barrie, while also spending one season for HC Nove Zamky of the Slovak Extraliga on loan. The young defenseman has now suited up in 143 OHL games, scoring 40 goals and 118 assists. Clarke has primarily been commended for his ability as a defenseman to create the rush and join in with it.

This season, Clarke was able to suit up in nine games for the Kings earlier in the season, scoring two assists during his time. Averaging over two points a game in the OHL this season, Clarke should be expected to earn a full-time job with the Kings next season.

More from around the league this afternoon:

  • After speaking with the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Sheldon Keefe, this morning, Mark Masters of TSN passes on that center Ryan O’Reilly is unlikely to return to Toronto this week. This is still within the timeline that the Maple Leafs initially gave, as they stated O’Reilly would be out for four weeks with his injury. Getting off to a dismal start to the year with the St.Louis Blues, O’Reilly picked up his play a bit, scoring three goals and two assists after eight games in Toronto.
  • After scoring one goal and one assist in his first-ever game in the NHL, Buffalo Sabres’ forward Lukas Rousek will be returned to the team’s AHL affiliate Rochester Americans. Drafted 160th overall in 2019, the Sabres forward has scored 49 points in 62 games for Rochester and seemed to translate that talent to the NHL in the team’s loss to the Montreal Canadiens. As Rochester is in the midst of a playoff hunt coming down the wire, expect Rousek to be a big part of that.

Ryan O’Reilly Expected Back Before Playoffs

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The Toronto Maple Leafs spent big at the NHL trade deadline to try and improve their team before the playoffs but ended up losing Ryan O’Reilly after just a few games when he was accidentally hit with an Auston Matthews shot. Today, general manager Kyle Dubas told reporters, including Chris Johnston of NorthStar Bets that O’Reilly should be able to return ahead of the playoffs.

After breaking a finger, the veteran forward was moved to long-term injured reserve on March 6, meaning he can return at the end of the month. The team has eight games in April to get him back up to speed, should he be ready to go for April 1.

It seemed like a perfect fit for the Maple Leafs and O’Reilly through his first few games with the team. After scoring just 19 points in 40 games with St. Louis, he had five in his three with Toronto, including an impressive hat trick performance against the Buffalo Sabres. However, things had gone quiet before the injury, as O’Reilly was scoreless in his other five games with the Maple Leafs.

While he won’t be asked to carry the load offensively, his addition was meant to give the team another high-impact forward for the playoffs. Winning faceoffs and playing strong defense is one thing, but it’s not exactly what the team was hoping for when they used several high draft picks to acquire him from the St. Louis Blues.

Luckily for Toronto, the other player they received in that deal—Noel Acciari—has also been making an impact, including a pair of goals against the Edmonton Oilers a few days ago. The bang-and-crash forward has already recorded 40 hits in his 11 games as a Maple Leaf, taking him over 200 on the season.

East Notes: O’Reilly, Gaudreau, Dach, Wilson

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While it’s a frequent occurrence that a team acquires a player on an expiring contract and then quickly signs him to an extension, that won’t be the case for the Maple Leafs and center Ryan O’Reilly.  Speaking with reporters today (video link), GM Kyle Dubas indicated that there have been no discussions about an extension nor are there plans to do so.  Instead, the plan is to see how he fits in with his new team and then assess whether there’s mutual interest in trying to extend his stay with Toronto.  With more than $72.6MM committed to just a dozen players for next season per CapFriendly, it’s going to be quite difficult for them to keep their new middleman unless they’re able to free up considerable cap space this summer.

More from the Eastern Conference:

  • The Blue Jackets announced (Twitter link) that winger Johnny Gaudreau will miss tonight’s game against Dallas due to a lower-body injury. That means his Ironman streak will come to an end at 349 games; only two players (Phil Kessel and Brent Burns) had longer active streaks.  Gaudreau hasn’t been able to put up the production he had with Calgary last season but still has 52 points in 55 games, good for an 18-point point lead on Patrik Laine who sits second.  Lane Pederson will make his Columbus debut in Gaudreau’s place.
  • The Canadiens announced (Twitter link) that center Kirby Dach will miss his second straight game tonight against Toronto due to a non-COVID illness. The 22-year-old tried to take part in the morning skate but left just minutes in.  Dach has had a breakout year in his first season with Montreal as he has 12 goals and 23 assists in 54 games so far, good for third on the team in scoring.
  • The Capitals have activated winger Tom Wilson from injured reserve, reports NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link). The 28-year-old has been out for more than three weeks after blocking a shot off his ankle late last month.  Between that and his recovery from knee surgery last spring, Wilson has been limited to just eight games so far, where he has two goals, an assist, and 33 hits.

Toronto Maple Leafs Acquire Ryan O’Reilly In Three-Team Trade

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The Toronto Maple Leafs, St. Louis Blues, and Minnesota Wild have completed a three-team, blockbuster trade.

In the deal, Toronto has acquired St. Louis’ captain, Ryan O’Reilly, veteran forward Noel Acciari, and prospect Josh Pillar. St. Louis has received Mikhail Abramov, Adam Gaudette, Toronto’s 2023 first-round pick, Ottawa’s 2023 third-round pick, and Toronto’s 2024 second-round pick. Minnesota received Toronto’s fourth-round pick in 2025.

As part of the deal, St. Louis will retain 50% of O’Reilly’s salary, while Minnesota will retain 25% of the cap hit. Both O’Reilly and Acciari are set to hit unrestricted free agency at year’s end.

It goes without saying that this is an extremely significant trade, and one that represents a major push from Toronto to try to finally get the franchise past the first round of the NHL playoffs. The Maple Leafs will, in all likelihood, once again be playing the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round, assuming there are no major changes in the standings.

The Lightning have won the Eastern Conference for three straight seasons, so for Toronto to really gear itself up for that expected first-round matchup, they would need to increase their firepower from their already talent-rich position.

Now, after this trade, Toronto boasts Auston Matthews, John Tavares, and O’Reilly as the team’s top-three centers. Most would be hard-pressed to find another team in the NHL that can boast such a strong trio of pivots.

It’s true that O’Reilly’s offense is down from the rate he normally scores at.

He’s got just 12 goals and 19 points in 40 games this season, which is just two points more than current Maple Leafs third-line center David Kampf.

But O’Reilly isn’t being acquired for what he’ll bring to Toronto’s scoring attack, they already score goals in bunches.

He’s been acquired by the Maple Leafs because he brings exactly what many have felt Toronto has lacked in recent years in their biggest moments: competitive fire, the ability to rise to the occasion, and a willingness to rally in the face of challenges in order to get a job done.

O’Reilly’s exploits in the Blues’ 2019 Stanley Cup championship run cemented his status as a beloved St. Louis Blue. O’Reilly captured the Conn Smythe Trophy scoring 23 points in 26 games, as well as playing absolutely stellar defense that often left the line he was matched up against suffocated and unable to build offensive momentum. Overall, he has 56 points in his 64-game playoff career, a higher career playoff point-per-game scoring rate than Matthews, Tavares, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander, despite the fact that those players are normally considered to be in a different stratosphere of offensive talent.

With O’Reilly in tow, head coach Sheldon Keefe will be able to build a shutdown line that he can match with the deadliest scoring lines he faces in the playoffs. While the Maple Leafs have had competent defensive centers in the past, none boast the type of resume O’Reilly has built, especially in the unique environment of the playoffs. With forwards who are strong in their own end such as Kampf, Acciari, or even Zach Aston-Reese, Keefe could be able to complement his two deadly scoring lines with a premier shutdown line as well, boasting the kind of three-line mix that could handle any in-game situation.

O’Reilly is also a highly-regarded leader and someone whose locker room presence has played a major role in a Stanley Cup victory and in last season’s playoffs, where O’Reilly’s Blues were one of the few teams who truly gave the eventual champions, the Colorado Avalanche, a run for their money.

There are some who would rather the Maple Leafs spent these assets on a forward with some more points than O’Reilly has scored this season. But when looking at the problems that have plagued Toronto in prior years, it’s hard to say there is anyone available on the trade market who would be better fit than O’Reilly.

Beyond just O’Reilly, Toronto has also acquired Acciari, a well-respected, versatile bottom-six forward. The 31-year-old has scored 10 goals and 18 points this season, and can play both center and on the wings. While he doesn’t bring the scoring pedigree or star value that comes with O’Reilly, Acciari has 54 games of playoff experience and has been to a Stanley Cup final. He’ll undoubtedly be an upgrade for Toronto’s bottom six and helps with their overall goal of adding character players with playoff experience.

They also acquire prospect Josh Pillar, who currently plays for the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL. He’s a 21-year-old winger who was a fourth-rounder of the Wild at the 2021 draft. He’s scored decently well in the WHL and just returned from injury. He plays a polished game but his ultimate professional upside remains unclear. Per CapFriendly, the Maple Leafs will have exclusive rights to sign Pillar to his entry-level deal until June 1st.

From St. Louis’ point-of-view, this deal might be a tough pill to swallow but it’s ultimately a positive move for the team. It’s never ideal for any team to lose its captain and especially so if that player was a crucial part of the franchise’s first-ever Stanley Cup championship. But looking at this trade with the emotion of losing O’Reilly aside, this is a deal that should leave Blues fans satisfied.

Firstly, they landed another top draft pick for this upcoming NHL draft, adding another premier selection in a class that has drawn rave reviews from scouts.  In addition, the reality of the Blues’ season and O’Reilly’s contract status makes this a trade that the Blues simply had to make. The team has spent significant dollars locking up Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas recently, and sinking significant cap space into O’Reilly for the rest of what is shaping up to be a lost season (and a few years beyond) simply wouldn’t make sense, especially at the opportunity cost of adding the sort of draft pick haul they received.

If adding Acciari helped GM Doug Armstrong coax the best possible package of picks from the Maple Leafs in this deal, then that’s fine. Acciari likely could have been traded on his own, but adding him into this deal is a reasonable choice if it helped the Blues add that 2024 second-rounder.

In addition to the bounty of draft choices they received, the Blues also got Abramov, who is a 21-year-old 2019 fourth-rounder. He has scored 16 points in 34 AHL games this year and is someone for the team to plug into their AHL affiliate in Springfield to see what their development staff can do with his offensive skill.

They also received the 2017-18 Hobey Baker award winner, Gaudette, who has been a top scorer for the Toronto Marlies this season. With 34 points in 40 AHL games, he could either serve as an experienced depth NHLer to help fill a spot on St. Louis’ roster (he does have experience playing center) or could help Springfield.

For Minnesota, this is a tidy, if a relatively insignificant bit of business for the team. Their trade of Pillar indicates that they likely were going to let his rights lapse in the summer anyway, so for their relatively minor retention on O’Reilly, they net a mid-round draft pick. While much as been made of the Wild’s precarious cap position, they do actually have some room to maneuver this year. Turning some of that vacant space into a mid-round draft pick is nothing to complain about.

Overall, this is a trade that has the potential to serve as a significant moment for both the Maple Leafs and Blues franchises. For Toronto, they add a player whose resume seems almost perfectly tailored to address the problems that have ailed them in the playoff runs of the past. For St. Louis, they turn an expiring asset into a multitude of draft picks that could allow them to quickly move on from this disappointing campaign.

If the Maple Leafs don’t end up winning the Stanley Cup or even getting out of the first round, it will be easy to look back at this deal and criticize their management for paying so many draft picks for rental players.

But ultimately, this trade is simply a team hungry for some playoff success adding one of the most accomplished playoff performers on the market. Even if it doesn’t end up working out as the involved teams hope, this is a difficult deal to criticize.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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