Report: One Team Was 'Lusting After' Ryan O'Reilly

Nashville Predators center Ryan O'Reilly

GM Barry Trotz told us all along that Ryan O'Reilly, despite not having a no-trade clause in his contract with the Nashville Predators, was being treated like he has one. They would not send O'Reilly anywhere in a trade without his permission. It's a classy gesture by the team for a 35-year-old classy veteran. But it begs the question, why didn't they just give him the NTC in the first place?

Whatever the reasoning behind it all, O'Reilly wasn't moved at this trade deadline, just like he wasn't at last year's. And as a proven veteran center with Stanley Cup pedigree and a Conn Smythe Trophy, he was highly in demand by teams around the league who believed he could be their missing piece. And this whole, 'we won't move him if he doesn't want to go' thing didn't stop teams from making offers. In fact, one of the offers, says insider Frank Seravalli, should have been too good to pass up.

He doesn't have no-trade protection. And I know at least one team, they viewed Ryan O'Reilly as the perfect fit. They were lusting after Ryan O'Reilly.

Yes, the Predators "dipped their toe" in the trade deadline wars, as Seravalli noted, by dealing away Michael McCarron, Michael Bunting, Nick Blankenburg and Cole Smith. But they refused to pull the trigger on O'Reilly. Whether they came to him with an offer from that "lusting" team in question is unknown.

At least 6 teams were in on O'Reilly, with one 'lusting' after him

But what we do believe is that teams like the Montreal Canadiens, Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights, Minnesota Wild, and Detroit Red Wings all were interested in the veteran center (and he would have been the perfect fit for any of them going into the Stanley Cup Playoffs). The Avs pivoted and made the big splash on Deadline Day, filling that spot with Nazem Kadri. But the other teams were unable to make that kind of noteworthy move down the middle.

O'Reilly has one year remaining on the 4-year, $18M deal ($4.5 million AAV) he signed with Trotz in the summer of 2023.

Will it possibly be revisited in the summer with a new GM? Maybe. But the Preds could have gotten a haul for him at the deadline. The demand for a perfect playoff pivot like O'Reilly might not be the same in the offseason, as he gets set for a campaign in which he'll turn 36.