I'm sure Sheldon Keefe is glad to have all of the Leafs' deadline pickups, but one stands out among the rest in his eyes
When the Leafs pulled the trigger on a high-profile deal to bring in former St. Louis Blues captain Ryan O'Reilly, there was immediate excitement among the fanbase and among the locker room. After all, O'Reilly was a Selke Trophy winner, a Conn Smythe Trophy winner and a Stanley Cup Champion.
That excitement quickly dissipated when O'Reilly, in just his 8th game as a Leaf, took a shot off of his hand from Auston Matthews, which left him with a broken finger so severe that it required surgery to repair, resulting in a month on LTIR, just as he was getting into the swing of things with his new teammates.
Well, O'Reilly finally made his triumphant return last night against the league-leading Boston Bruins - not exactly the opponent you want for your first game coming back. However, O'Reilly not only returned, but looked very solid against the Bruins. He didn't register any shots, hits or points, but he was playing some sound positional hockey, winning important faceoffs, and making life difficult for the Bruins' top players.
Following the game, a 2-1 loss in OT unfortunately, Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe spoke with the media about O'Reilly's return, admitting that he was blown away by the veteran forward after having missed so much time. It looked like O'Reilly hadn't skipped a beat. Here's what Keefe had to say.
Another reason why O'Reilly is so important to the team is what he does when he's not on the ice. O'Reilly is constantly doing what he can to try to rally his teammates and create some extra motivation on the bench and in the locker room, behind the scenes. As a former captain and one of the hardest-working players in the NHL, it's nothing Sheldon Keefe didn't expect from O'Reilly coming in, but he acknowledged that aspect of O'Reilly's game last night as well.
It's still early to discuss whether or not the Leafs should extend O'Reilly, but I certainly wouldn't mind having a player like that around to set the right example for our current star players and all of the young guys who are expected to be coming up in the seasons ahead.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 7 | 197 ANSWERS I'm sure Sheldon Keefe is glad to have all of the Leafs' deadline pickups, but one stands out among the rest in his eyes Would you like to see Ryan O'Reilly extended in Toronto? | ||
| Yes | 183 | 92.9 % |
| No | 10 | 5.1 % |
| Not if he's taking ice time from young players | 4 | 2 % |
| List of polls | ||
