A former Sabres forward is fitting in nicely with the Predators.
A former Sabres forward is fitting in nicely with the Predators.
The 2022-23 season was a bit of a tough one for former Buffalo Sabres forward Ryan O'Reilly. In 53 games split between the St. Louis Blues and Toronto Maple Leafs, he had 16 goals along with 30 points. While these numbers were not necessarily bad, they were notably lower than in recent years. Injury trouble was a clear reason for this.
However, his improved play following his move to the Maple Leafs and his strong NHL resume allowed him to land a nice four-year, $18 million contract with the Nashville Predators this past offseason. Fast forward to the second half of the season, and it is a move that is benefitting both the player and the team immensely.
O'Reilly is having an excellent bounce-back season with the Predators. In 51 games played, he has 17 goals to go along with 42 points. He is clearly thriving as Nashville's first-line center, and he has also been impactful on both their power play and penalty kill.
It is apparent that after his tough season in 2022-23, O'Reilly is still a quality top-six forward now as a member of the Predators. He is performing well in a low-pressure market, and it will be interesting to see how well he keeps this kind of play up from here.
O'Reilly spent three seasons with the Sabres from 2015-16 to 2017-18. In 224 games, he had 65 goals to go along with 176 points. He was, of course, later moved to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Tage Thompson, Patrik Berglund, Vladimir Sobotka, a 2019 first-round pick (Ryan Johnson), and a 2021 second-round pick (Ben Roger).
This move proved to be a win-win for both teams involved. O'Reilly regained his love for the game and led the Blues to the Stanley Cup, while the Sabres got a long-term 1C in Thompson and a rising d-man in Johnson.
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