Ryan O’Reilly
Position: C
Age: 34
Statistics: 14 goals, 20 assists, 34 points (51 games)
Contract: Three-years, $13.5 million
Player Overview
Ryan O’Reilly has earned a reputation as a highly regarded two-way forward in the NHL for over a decade. The veteran center was a second-round pick by the Colorado Avalanche in 2009. Since his 55-point breakout in 2011-12, O’Reilly has maintained that pace or better in most seasons of his career.
After trades to the Buffalo Sabres in 2015 and St. Louis Blues in 2018, O’Reilly found his home. In his first year with the Blues, O’Reilly won the Selke Trophy for best defensive forward. He also won the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP as the Blues took home their franchise’s first Stanley Cup.
However, in 2022-23, the final year of his contract, the then-Blues captain struggled both on and off the ice. This led to his trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs. O’Reilly had a brief, but successful stint in Toronto before signing a bargain four-year contract with the Nashville Predators in the summer of 2023.
After a successful first season for the team in Nashville, the wheels have fallen off in year two. This may lead to the team looking to move the still great two-way center. While it’s been a bit of a down year for O’Reilly, he is just one year removed from the second-most goals and points in a single season throughout his entire career, making him an incredibly interesting trade chip.
Contract
As previously mentioned, O’Reilly signed a four-year contract with Nashville less than two years ago. The deal was four-years, $18 million at the time of signing. After this season, it will only have two years and $9 million left on it.
For what he provides on both sides of the puck, $4.5 million for two more years is well worth it. He has no trade protection so there is nothing stopping Nashville from moving him whenever they feel.
Sat down with Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald. On his team’s bounce back season, on Sheldon Keefe’s impact, and on New Jersey’s trade deadline needs; my latest for @TheAthletic
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) January 17, 2025https://t.co/tc6sWsHA1G
Potential Fit for the Devils
On January 17, Pierre LeBrun reported in an article on The Athletic that Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald, “started to check in on all the obvious center targets,” including O’Reilly who LeBrun said is, “at the very top of every team’s dream list.”
In that same article, an interview with Fitzgerald, the Devils GM said himself that center was a position he’d like to address. That makes sense given the fact that after Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier, the Devils next best option down the middle is Erik Haula. Haula has put up good numbers in the past, but this season has managed just five goals and 11 points in 45 games. Besides him it’s been a mix of Justin Dowling and Curtis Lazar, both who have been underwhelming as well.
Adding a center of the caliber of Ryan O’Reilly would be huge for the team. When completely healthy that could potentially slot him between Dawson Mercer and Tomas Tatar. That trio would be an excellent third line.
In the aforementioned article Fitzgerald said, “When you look at how many players can play other positions, you can’t have enough centers, you just can’t.”
It seems clear O’Reilly is both a target and a good fit for the Devils who have struggled with forward depth as a whole this season.
Potential Package
Putting together a package for O’Reilly is interesting because he has term and isn’t being actively shopped according to LeBrun’s Athletic Article.
So, what would a package look like? A best guess would be a B-tier prospect and multiple high-end draft picks or a blue-chip prospect with some minor draft compensation.
Given what the Devils have to offer, a prospect along the lines of Matyas Melovsky or Artem Shlaine along with multiple second-round picks (the Devils have three for the 2025 draft) or a first-round pick in 2026 (their first round pick in 2025 was traded for Jacob Markstrom). Another option would be trading a prospect along the lines of Lenni Hameenaho, Seamus Casey, or Arseni Gritsyuk along with a few mid-round draft picks.
The last thing to note is that Nashville most likely doesn’t want to enter a full rebuild given how much money they invested in free agency last summer. A retool is more likely, so it is possible they would want a young roster player in return. Possibly a player like Dawson Mercer in a one-for-one deal. They have similar cap hits so it would work out well in that regard. The Devils may not want to approach a move in that way given it would be more of a swap rather than an addition, and they would be getting the older player.
There are a large variety of possibilities in regards to a potential move for O’Reilly, but any way the Devils could land the former Selke winner would improve the team and make them an even bigger threat in the postseason.