Former Leaf explains what type of a deal the Leafs should approach pending UFA Ryan O'Reilly with this summer
Free agent frenzy is now just a few short weeks away, and with the Leafs just recently having hired a new GM in Brad Treliving, we're likely to begin to see some movement in terms of the Leafs attempting to lock up some of the pending UFAs and RFAs to new deals.
On Tuesday's edition of "Leafs Morning Take", host Nick Alberga and his co-host and former Leaf Jay Rosehill touched on a number of UFAs that they'd like to see return for the Leafs next season. One name that came up was Ryan O'Reilly as someone that the Leafs should look to bring back. O'Reilly prides himself on being relentless forechecker and a hard worker and he's often the first guy on the ice and the last guy off the ice. He was a big reason why the Leafs were able to knock off Tampa in Round 1 this year and, if he returns, he should have a similar impact for the Leafs next season as well.
O'Reilly is 32 years old, so there will certainly be an opportunity for him to sign one more sizable contract if he wants to commit for 5 or 6 years somewhere. However, Rosehill would like to see O'Reilly sign a shorter-term deal with the Leafs to show what he can do with a full year or a full two years in Toronto.
There's no question that O'Reilly has a number of good years left in him, but at the end of the day, with the NHL having a hard salary cap, it's all going to come down to the same thing that it always does; the money. If O'Reilly wants anything close to the $7.5M AAV he carried on his last deal, the Leafs will be out of the mix for certain. However, if he agreed to take a discounted rate in the $4M-$5M range, it's not out of the realm of possibility that we could see him back in a Leafs sweater next year.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 6 | 768 ANSWERS Former Leaf explains what type of a deal the Leafs should approach pending UFA Ryan O'Reilly with this summer Should the Leafs offer O'Reilly a 1-2 year deal this summer? | ||
| Screw that, just offer him 5 years! | 111 | 14.5 % |
| Yes, a 1-2 year deal would be perfect | 334 | 43.5 % |
| Honestly, I don't see him coming back | 191 | 24.9 % |
| It all depends on the money | 132 | 17.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
