The Nashville Predators have made the biggest splash of NHL free agency so far, signing former Conn Smythe Trophy winner Ryan O’Reilly to a four-year contract worth $4.5M 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 his 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 $4.5M price tag will feel like a bargain.
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