After the Leafs had acquired Ryan O'Reilly from the St. Louis Blues ahead of the trade deadline last season, O'Reilly spoke very highly of Toronto and his overall level of excitement to play there. Even after the season had ended, O'Reilly had doubled-down on his comments about how much he loved playing for the Leafs. Well, as it turns out, he just didn't love it enough.
Per Elliotte Friedman, O'Reilly has signed a 4-year deal in Nashville, worth $4.5M per season, totaling $18M. Friedman believes that it was that 4th year that the Preds had offered O'Reilly that made the difference.
O'Reilly experienced some success in Toronto playing alongside John Tavares and Mitch Marner. Much of his tenure in Toronto during the playoffs, however, was spent centering the team's 3rd line.
Leaf fans are going to have a tough time accepting this one, but paying O'Reilly $4.5M through his 36-year-old season may not have been a good idea at any rate. That $4.5M may be better spent on bringing in a solid defenseman or a younger option to help bolster the forward group.
