NHL Rumours: Montreal Canadiens Interested in Nashville Forward

Welcome back to another edition of NHL Rumours from the crew at Last Word On Hockey. The Olympic Games have started, and both men’s and women’s hockey tournaments are underway. While the games are ongoing, the NHL has a trade freeze. Not allowing teams to make any moves until after 12 p.m. Eastern on February 22nd. Despite not being able to make any moves, teams will certainly be mulling their options for when the freeze is lifted, as it will be extremely close to the trade deadline at that point. One of those teams will be the Montreal Canadiens. In this edition of NHL Rumours, we focus on the Canadiens interest in current Nashville Predators centre, Ryan O’Reilly.

All NHL Rumours come from their original source and are subject to change. 

NHL Rumours: Canadiens Interested in Adding Predators Forward

Rumour: In the written edition of 32 Thoughts, Elliotte Freidman states that he believes the Canadiens like Ryan O’Reilly. Though he’s unsure if O’Reilly will be moved.

Analysis: This shouldn’t come as a surprise. Everyone should like Ryan O’Reilly. He has been one of the best two-way centres in the game for quite some time. It’s also no secret that the Canadiens have been looking for a second-line centre for the last two seasons. However, that need has lessened with the emergence of Oliver Kapanen. The team is no longer screaming for a centre, though if the opportunity comes up, they’ll surely try to make a move if they feel it truly improves them past this season.

O’Reilly is nearing the end of his career; however, he is still playing at the top of his game. He currently has 20 goals and 56 points in 57 games. Essentially, a point per game pace at 35 years old. Moreover, he’s one of the best defensive centres in the game today. He is also under contract until the end of the 2026-27 season, so he wouldn’t be a rental for the Canadiens. O’Reilly can be that veteran centre to help the youth on the team, as well as help improve the Canadiens special teams and face-off percentage, while being able to produce offence at the same time. Acquiring Phillip Danault was a great move by the Canadiens, but he doesn’t hold the same offensive prowess that O’Reilly has. Adding both of them this season would drastically improve the centre ice position for the Canadiens and provide a stopgap to allow Michael Hage to develop.

Will O’Reilly be Dealt?

That’s the million-dollar question here. If the Predators start to fall out of position or get an offer they just can’t refuse, sure. However, as it stands, Nashville is just four points out of a wild-card spot. Selling off players who they still have under contract into next season would be a hard sell. Especially a player like O’Reilly, who is so important to the club. But if a strong enough offer presents itself, and the Predators lose their games leading into the trade deadline, we could very well see them start to sell off their pieces. Given that O’Reilly still has another year on his deal, the offer will need to be substantial, so the Predators hold the cards here. But if made available, the Canadiens will certainly have their hat in the ring.