Ryan O’Reilly elaborates on why he left Toronto, blames fans and media

Forward Ryan O’Reilly decided to leave Toronto for Nashville. Once he hit free agency, he signed with the re-tooling Predators despite having a chance to stay with the Maple Leafs for another crack at bringing a Stanley Cup to his hometown team…

When asked to elaborate on his decision by Adam Vignan, O’Reilly opened up on the tough decision to leave the Maple Leafs after a brief yet enjoyable time with the club. He however felt the pressure more than ever before.

“You could tell everything’s amplified,” O’Reilly said. “I don’t do it often, (but) it was a good thing when I played there that I didn’t turn on the TV much or turn on the radio, because there are (so many outlets) talking about it. … Everything’s covering it, talking about it. Here, it gets a little time on the TV, but it’s not everything. It is more than just a game there.”

O’Reilly however maintains that Toronto is an “amazing place to play”.

“Just putting on that jersey, you can just feel the love that comes with it, how much pride people take in that jersey. It’s hockey’s team. … It was definitely not an easy decision not (to re-sign) there.”

In Nashville, O’Reilly reunited with defenseman Luke Schenn, who also chose to sign in Music City. The Predators signed O’Reilly a four-year contract with a $4.5-million cap hit and it was just known off the bat that the Maple Leafs were never able or willing to match the numbers. However, O’Reilly maintains that family reasons, among others, for his decision to sign in Nashville.

“There were just so many things that were attractive to here,” O’Reilly said. “We have something here that, if we do things the right way, we’re going to be very competitive.”

The Maple Leafs will visit O’Reilly in Nashville on October 28th, while the forward will reunite with the Toronto crowd months later on December 9th.

Recommended articles:

• Ryan O'Reilly admits the truth of his time with Leafs
• Brad Treliving reacts to Ryan O’Reilly’ decision to leave Toronto
• TSN takes a shot at Ryan O'Reilly after signing with Predators
• Damning details about Ryan O'Reilly's decision to leave Toronto.
• Predators sign O'Reilly and Schenn away from the Maple Leafs.