After winning the St. Louis Blues’ first Stanley Cup in 2019 and taking home the Frank J. Selke and Conn Smythe Trophies in the same season Ryan O’Reilly is set to make his return since being traded in February.
He was dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs before the NHL’s trading deadline in hopes of making a run for his second Stanley Cup but fell short in the second round against the Florida Panthers in five games.
“It’s always weird going back and playing your old team, especially there being in St. Louis,” O’Reilly said. “One of the defining moments of my career and something that changed my career for the better being there and winning and being captain too.
“It is a special place but at the end of the day it is a hockey game, we have to go up there and win. Still, some of my closest friends in the game are there, and going against them is so weird.”
Photo of Ryan O’Reilly lifting the Stanley Cup by Brian Babineau/NHL/Getty Images
He joined the Nashville Predators this offseason on a four-year contract worth $18 million. General manager Barry Trotz signed himself a “serial winner” and since the start of the season, O’Reilly has 17 points in 18 games as a Predator.
Last season O’Reilly had 19 points in 40 games with the Blues before moving over to the Maple Leafs. Overall he scored 30 points in 53 games before playing in 11 playoff games with Toronto notching nine points.
Ahead of Wednesday’s game against Calgary, O’Reilly hit on what he’s seen from the Predators powerplay that is 7-for-41 in the last 10 games and scored four on the man advantage during their recent five-game homestand. He said good teams in this league that stand out have good special teams.
“For us, that’s a big thing. I think we’ve done some good things,” O’Reilly said. “We find ways to get goals now, not the cleanest goals, still working and finding a way and as we progress, we keep growing that. We do have great depth and good players, it’s having that competitiveness and finding a way to find the back of the net.”
Before his return to St. Louis O’Reilly mentioned prior to Thanksgiving that he’s thankful for his wife’s vegan stuffing he’s also been happy to share being a professional hockey player with his children since moving to Nashville.
“Thankful for my oldest who is six. He’s at the age where he’s starting to remember and form memories at his age,” O’Reilly said. “It’s really cool for me to share. Hopefully, he’ll remember me being in the locker room, don’t plan on going anywhere soon, for him to be able to grow up and understand what I do and how much I love it and hopefully it gets to him into it as well.”
O’Reilly has also had an impression on the younger players Nashville has. He’s skated with Juuso Pärssinen this season and had Filip Forsberg as his left winger for all 18 games. Due to his play and injuries, Pärssinen has been slid around onto other lines this season.
Now with centermen Cody Glass and Tommy Novak on injured reserve, O’Reilly is focused on how the Predators can stay consistent down the middle.
Overall Nashville is converting on 50.8% of their faceoffs this season and are good for 51.6% in their last 10 games which is good for 14th in the NHL.
“In our d-zone, we have to be fast and close quick,” O’Reilly said. “If we’re hard to play against and on our toes and killing plays early and trusting our reads defensively it is a big part of us defensively to make those reads and from there, it should propel our speed in our transition and offense from that.
“I love our personnel, it’s tough with Novak and Glass down. We have great depth here, we have so many players who have the opportunity to get more ice time.”
Stay tuned for O’Reilly’s return to St. Louis this afternoon as the puck is dropped at 2 p.m. with Pete Weber on the call with Hal Gill alongside him.
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