Two front-runners emerge in Ryan O’Reilly sweepstakes

The 2022-23 season has been hard on the St. Louis Blues, so much so that for weeks now, captain Ryan O’Reilly has landed on the trade block. There is a sense out there that the Blues could listen to offers for their star forward : some reporters even believe O’Reilly could be shopped before the March 3 trade deadline.

According to Pierre LeBrun, there are already two clear contenders for O’Reilly’s services that could choose to make a move sooner rather than later.

LeBrun points to the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Colorado Avalanche. While the insider reports that the Maple Leafs’ front office has internally discussed O’Reilly, he wonders about a possible reunion of O’Reilly and the Avalanche. The 31-year-old forward kicked off his career with the Avs in 2009-10, spending six seasons there before he was traded to the Buffalo Sabres back in 2015. O’Reilly could welcome a return to Colorado, but he lacks the no-trade protection so he could end up anywhere.

O’Reilly is currently playing the final season of a seven-year contract with an average annual value of $7.5 million. However, he is earning $6 million in actual salary, but $5 million of that was already paid out as a signing bonus at the start of the season. He’s eligible for unrestricted free-agent status on July 1.

A change of scenery could be what he needs seeing that this season, O’Reilly has only put up 15 points in 32 games. But everyone across the league knows how crucial his leadership in the dressing room can be, and it might be what Toronto needs to get over the first round of the postseason.

For now, those two teams have emerged as front-runners to land O’Reilly, but the Blues could wait for the trade deadline to get closer and get more teams in the mix for the best offer.

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