Insider reveals some important information that explains why O'Reilly chose not to re-sign with Leafs
Shortly after the official start of free agency on July 1st, it was revealed that Ryan O'Reilly had chosen to sign with the Nashville Predators instead of re-signing with the Leafs. O'Reilly signed a 4-year deal that will see him earn $4.5M per season with the Preds. At the time, it was reported that the Leafs tried very hard to keep him and that they would have matched Nashville's offer, but in the end it was a unique reason as to why O'Reilly headed South, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman on the latest 32 Thoughts podcast.
"There's a lot of theories about why O'Reilly didn't come back to Toronto. One of the things I really felt is that I think ROR likes his anonymity... all of the attention in Toronto, I don't think it really appealed to him. Nashville, they love their hockey players, but obviously, it's not the same. You can be a lot more anonymous there... I'm not surprised he ended up there. Nashville, Tennessee - it's a tax-free State, right? But I think O'Reilly wanted a place that was quieter. I don't think that he liked all of the noise [in Toronto] and I think Nashville really appealed to him."
According to Friedman, O"Reilly didn't want to be at the forefront of the hectic Toronto media and didn't want to be swarmed on the street wherever he went around the city. It's an understandable reason as not everyone wants to be asked the same questions day after day or deal with the constant barrage of autograph and photo requests when they are out with family or friends away from the rink.
Aside from his short time in Toronto, O'Reilly has never really played in a big market and while the teams he has played for have passionate fanbases, their fans and media typically don't bombard players outside of the arena. In addition to being able to fly under the radar in Nashville, Jeff Marek also noted that O'Reilly's brother Cal settled down in Nashville when he retired from playing, so he also has a family connection there.
