Ryan O'Reilly's splits between St. Louis and Toronto a night and day difference
I don't think many people envisioned the St. Louis Blues struggling as badly as they did this season, but when push came to shove, the Blues decided to begin a tear down and retool, trading Vladimir Tarasenko and captain Ryan O'Reilly (among others), rather than spending assets to make the team better at the deadline.
The Toronto Maple Leafs made the blockbuster move to acquire the former Conn Smythe winner and it has paid dividends with the regular season coming to a close. Yes, he was injured for a month with a broken finger and the Leafs took their time in bringing him back, but he still scored 4 goals and 11 points in 13 games. In fact, he only registered 12 goals and 19 points in his first 40 games with the Blues, was a -24 rating, and averaged 18:24 TOI. In just 13 games with the Leafs he was a near point-per-game player but more importantly he was a +11. Plus/minus is a very controversial stat, sometimes cherry picked to make an argument, but there's a massive difference between being -24 and being +11 - regardless of team performance.
O'Reilly made his return from injury against the Boston Bruins in their eventual overtime loss and didn't record a point. However, the next 4 games, he registered a goal and 5 assists to close out the season, including a 3-assist night against the Montreal Canadiens.
He is going to be the ace-in-the-hole for the Leafs in the post-season. He can play either on the wing or down the middle, and he brings a lot of leadership and experience to a Leafs locker room that needs it more than ever. He also has 22 goals and 56 points in 64 playoff games and a Stanley Cup ring, so that's not too shabby either.
