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Alleged contract demands for Ryan O'Reilly leaked

Would the Leafs be willing to pony up this deal?

HockeyFeed

HockeyFeed

If this is the kind of contract that pending free agent forward Ryan O'Reilly is looking for, it wouldn't be a surprise if new Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving elects to go in a different direction. 

As you member, O'Reilly was acquired at the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline by now-former Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas, and he immediately paid dividends for the Leafs as they were able to finally break their near two-decade postseason drought by taking down the Tampa Bay Lightning in Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. O'Reilly registered six points during that series while also scoring the game-tying goal in Game 3. 

However, O'Reilly is on the wrong side of 30 years of age, and based on the latest information from NHL Insider Frank Seravalli, the kind of dough and term that O'Reilly is seeking in his next deal may be a bit too rich for what the Leafs would be prepared to offer. 

Per Maple Leafs Insider: 

"According to Frank Seravalli, O'Reilly, 32, may be pricing himself out of a return to the Leafs. Seravalli has reported that O'Reilly is seeking a 3 to 4 year deal that could earn him upwards of $20M-$25M over the course of the contract. That means that O'reilly could see an AAV of $6.25M on a 4-year deal if he were to max-out at $25M.

Seravalli stated that he envisions O'Reilly signing for somewhere between $5M and $5.5M on any deal, but that still may be too rich for the Leafs, who have just $9M in cap space and will have just $14M when they place Jake Muzzin on LTIR."

The 2019 Conn Smythe Trophy winner has played in 991 career NHL games, scoring 251 goals with 446 assists for 702 points. He's also added 25 goals and 40 assists in 75 career postseason games. 

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