The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the best teams in the NHL and General Manager, Kyle Dubas is trying to make his team even better. NHL Insider Pierre LeBrun is reporting an interesting rumor involving St. Louis center Ryan O'Reilly.
Things have not gone according to plan for the Blues this season and it seems they will move on from O'Reilly as he is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. O'Reilly is in the last year of his contract that pays him $7.5 million per season. The Blues would like some assets in return for O'Reilly as the team moves forward and attempts to regroup from this years disappointing season. LeBrun suggests in his report that he believes that the Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the team interested in adding O'Reilly.
O'Reilly is still a veteran center who won the Stanley Cup just a few season ago. That type of experience might be what the Leafs need to get them past the first round and into a deep playoff run. Not known for his speed, O'Reilly might fit well on a teams second or even third line. This would give the Maple Leafs even more depth at the forward position. He also excels in the faceoff circle and would give them some veteran leadership.
If the Leafs were interesting in making such a move, it gets complicated with the salary cap. They currently already have a max of fifty contracts, so they'd likely need to shed salary and a contract or two just to make this deal. The other factor is what does St Louis want in return ? Probably draft picks or prospects. Is that something Kyle Dubas is willing to part with? We will have to wait and see. Perhaps as it gets closer to trade deadline day, you might hear more of these rumors. Especially as the Maple Leafs continue to play well.
