The Nashville Predators have signed forward Ryan O'Reilly to a four-year contract worth an average annual value of $4.4 million.
We have our first blockbuster signing of Free Agent Frenzy.
The Nashville Predators made quite the splash on Saturday, agreeing to terms with forward Ryan O'Reilly on a four-year contract worth an average annual value of $4.4 million.
The deal ties O'Reilly to Nashville through the 2027-28 season and takes the presumptive top center available off the market on the first day of free agency.
Well, Barry Trotz certainly is hitting the ground running. The first-year GM followed up the acquisition of Luke Schenn by nabbing O'Reilly to anchor the Predators' centre corps, luring one of the best players available to Music City following his successful stint in Toronto.
If it weren’t for age and injury factors, O’Reilly would absolutely be the top forward on the market this year. The defensive stalwart lost 19 games this past season to a foot injury that slowed him noticeably upon return, but once traded to Toronto, O’Reilly looked much more like his former self, handling difficult matchups with ease, scoring timely goals, and adding a sense of maturity and accountability to the locker room that the Predators will certainly benefit from.
Between the Blues and Maple Leafs in 2022-23, O'Reilly finished with 16 goals and 14 assists for 30 points in 53 games while logging nearly 18 minutes in average nightly ice time.
While O'Reilly is assuredly a useful player, four years is some serious term to give a 33-year-old power forward with extensive injury issues dating back to as recently as last season.
It's a risk, but a worthwhile one, as the Predators are a better team following this signing than they were before it.
Stay tuned. More moves are rolling in.