Center Ryan O’Reilly has chosen to continue his career in Nashville with the Predators. O’Reilly agreed to a four-year deal at an average annual salary of $4.5 million.
According to co-worker Darren Dreger, the Maple Leafs tried everything to convince O’Reilly to stay, but it wasn’t a contract issue for the center; he wanted to leave Toronto.
The 32-year-old O’Reilly will be on his fifth team on the Bettman circuit, having also played for the Colorado Avalanche, Buffalo Sabres, St. Louis Blues and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Last season he had 16 goals and 30 points in 53 games. He had been acquired by the Leafs before the trade deadline, with whom he provided 11 points in 13 season meetings.
A 14-year NHL veteran, O’Reilly helped the Maple Leafs win a first-round series for the first time since 2004. He contributed to Toronto’s success with nine points in 11 playoff games.
O’Reilly scored 256 goals and added 446 assists for 702 points during his 991-game NHL career. In addition to winning the Stanley Cup in 2019, O’Reilly also won the Lady-Bing (2014), the Selke (2019) and the Conn-Smythe (2019).
Barry Trotz continued his shopping spree with the signing of forward Gustav Nyquist for two years. He will get his hands on the sum of $3.185 million annually.
The 33-year-old Nyquist spent last season with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild. He has also evolved since the beginning of his career with the Detroit Red Wings and the San Jose Sharks.
With the Wild, Nyquist had five assists in six playoff games. He previously had one goal and four assists in the season with Minnesota. Nyquist had 22 points in 48 games with the Jackets before changing address.
Barry Trotz continued to reshape the Predators in his image. He awarded a three-year contract at $2.75 million annually to Luke Schenn.
Drafted 5th overall by the Leafs in 2008, Schenn was acquired by Toronto at the trade deadline last spring. He only played 26 games with the Leafs, collecting one goal and one assist.
Despite only playing one full season in the NHL, Schenn still played 933 NHL games.
Like a cherry on a sundae, Cody Glass was the end point of Trotz’s workday. The 24-year-old center, who was a restricted free agent, extended for two seasons at a salary of $2.5 million.
Acquired in return for Nolan Patrick, Glass finally seemed to find his rhythm in 2022-23 with 14 goals, 21 assists and 35 points in 72 games.
