Ryan O’Reilly was traded to the St. Louis Blues from the Buffalo Sabres in 2018 and has been an integral part of the Blues core ever since. He went on to lead the team to the Stanley Cup in 2019, beating a deep and tough Boston Bruins team and he was eventually announced the Conn Smythe Winner of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. O’Reilly has since become the captain for the Blues in December 2020 after Alex Pietrangelo departed in free agency to the Vegas Golden Knights. O’Reilly was a big part of almost reaching the Conference Finals last season. This year, the Blues are tending in the wrong direction and Ryan O’Reilly is a pending free agent. With the trade deadline coming up, the Blues have a chance to either re-sign their captain or trade him for future assets.
Why the Blues Should Re-Sign Ryan O’Reilly
General Manager – Doug Armstrong will not be rebuilding just because the St. Louis Blues are not meeting expectations this season. They still have a lot of good pieces on their defence and within their forward group. Most of the team is still in their prime and signed to big contracts. Therefore, it would not be out of the question for him to make minor changes to his team and run it back next season. If the Blues are looking to compete again next season, they would benefit from keeping O’Reilly on their team.
O’Reilly is still a strong center man as evidenced by his 53.4% winning percentage in the face-off circle (stat can be found on foxsports.com). He provides tremendous leadership which would be hard to replace, and most importantly, he wants to remain a member of the St. Louis Blues. His veteran leadership is especially important for mentoring young players such as Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou. Even if O’Reilly’s offensive production continues to decline, he would still be able to take a large portion of the defensive burden. He has continuously done this throughout his career. This would allow Thomas and Kyrou to focus on the offensive portion of their game. Keeping O’Reilly would really benefit the Blues to help them compete next year, in an extremely competitive Central Division.
Why the Blues Should Trade Ryan O’Reilly
Ryan O’Reilly only four years removed from his Conn Smythe performance in 2019 and is still a great defensive forward. He also put up twelve points in twelve games in last season’s playoffs. O’Reilly is a playoff performer and that is always attractive to NHL teams looking to compete for the Stanley Cup. In addition, since centremen are always the most sought-after in the trade market, the Blues would recoup assets.
The St. Louis Blues would miss their captain, however, they still have a good veteran presence in Schenn, Krug, Parayko, and a few more players they could count on. In fact, Brayden Schenn would likely be next in line for the captaincy. Schenn already wears an ‘A’ (assistant captain) on his jersey. Having these veteran players allows Doug Armstrong to trade his pending free agents freely. He knows there is still a good amount of leadership in the locker room to rely on.
If Ryan O’Reilly is not willing to take a cut on either salary or term for his next contract, it is not in the Blue’s best interest to keep him. Signing O’Reilly for anything more than three years would be a mistake. It would become a bad contract for an aging player whose offensive game may be in decline. Having bad contracts on the books while trying to compete rarely ever works out well for a team.
Final Assessment
It is in the St. Louis Blues’ best interest to trade Ryan O’Reilly. While losing your captain is never easy, the leadership would remain strong as they have a heavy veteran presence. It is not worth the risk to sign an aging Ryan O’Reilly to a contract longer than three years. His offensive production has already begun to decline and will likely continue to do so. The time to turn the team over to Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou is now.
Main Photo: Embed from Getty Images
