6 Trade Landing Spots for Ryan O'Reilly Amid NHL Rumors

The Nashville Predators are in a bad way again this season. They're battling with Calgary to stay out of the NHL's basement and are careening toward another season destined to have a high lottery pick in the draft. Although that might bring them Gavin McKenna in the future, right now they've got to figure out who's going to stay and who's going to go to help them figure out the future, and one of the top names we'll hear about is Ryan O'Reilly.

O'Reilly helped lead the St. Louis Blues to the Stanley Cup in 2019 and won the Conn Smythe Trophy in doing so. He wins faceoffs like a madman, and he's currently the Predators' leading scorer with 19 points (eight goals, 11 assists). At 34 years old, with another year remaining on his contract, a $4.5 million cap hit, and no trade protection, he's a very tradeable player.

Teams need centers and don't want to deal with guys that can't defend well enough up the middle, and that makes O'Reilly a prime person of interest. Who might come calling? Let's take a look at a few possibilities based on rumors and our own big-brained ideas.

Montréal Canadiens

John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images

Nick Suzuki and Ryan O'Reilly

The idea of Ryan O'Reilly joining the Montréal Canadiens is a really interesting one.

Pierre LeBrun recently raised the possibility of this happening, and given how the Canadiens have cooled off after a red-hot start and how serious they are about not just making the playoffs but going deep, a veteran like O'Reilly solidifying the center position is intriguing.

O'Reilly would slot in behind Nick Suzuki, and while the Habs are without Alex Newhook and Kirby Dach because of injuries, he'd ideally be their No. 2 pivot. If there's a reason to be hesitant about adding O'Reilly, it'd be due to his speed on the ice compared to how quickly the Canadiens play and who they'd want him to line up with.

All of that said, a player who plays as hard as O'Reilly, defends well, and wins draws as he does would allow the Canadiens to have someone reliable in the lineup who's won it all before and can help provide a guiding hand for a very young team. The cost may be prohibitive for the Habs, however, because giving up prospects would be tough, but there's a big opportunity in the Atlantic Division to finish high in the standings this season and put pressure on the veteran teams trying to track them down.

Detroit Red Wings

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Patrick Kane and Ryan O'Reilly

You're going to see a lot of Atlantic Division teams mentioned here because it's a division that's very much up for grabs, and the Red Wings would be among the most desperate to make a move that gets them in the playoffs.

Detroit has a playoff drought to end, and its depth up the middle is a bit shaky. Dylan Larkin is outstanding, but Andrew Copp (who's having a nice season) is slotted in as their No. 2 with veteran J.T. Compher and rookie Nate Danielson in that mix with him. That's a lot of veteran know-how, sure, but the lack of offensive ability hurts the Wings.

O'Reilly would jump in on the second line and provide defensive support and playmaking to help Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat as well. As great as Larkin is on the top line, there are far too many questions about who can help provide offense up the middle beyond him, and a veteran like O'Reilly would alter that conversation a bit.

Florida Panthers

John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images

We're not saying that times are getting desperate for the two-time defending champion Panthers, but while they wait for Matthew Tkachuk to return to the lineup, they're sweating things out pretty hard.

Florida going without Aleksander Barkov has been tough, and while Sam Bennett and Anton Lundell have been valiant in trying to step up in his absence, they could use help, and a veteran like Ryan O'Reilly makes so much sense it's painful.

What's also painful is how the Panthers would be able to make such a trade happen. They can't go giving up younger NHL-ready players with affordable contracts, and Nashville wouldn't exactly be eager to take money back in the form of veteran players to give up a player with O'Reilly's value either.

But if the Panthers are going to survive the injuries they've been dealing with and get into a better place in the playoff race in the East, GM Bill Zito is going to have to get creative to make it happen. While O'Reilly is not meant to be a savior type of player, giving guys like Bennett and Lundell a break by bringing in a center with O'Reilly's ability is the kind of move that could help them not just tread water, but battle back to be ready for an attack run on the postseason.

New Jersey Devils

Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

It's been tough for the Devils to once again go without star center Jack Hughes, and the freak accident that has put him out of action has stressed the top of their lineup. Nico Hischier is brilliant, yes, and Dawson Mercer has hung tough in a second-line role, but wouldn't Ryan O'Reilly solve a lot of issues there, too?

Without Hughes, the Devils rolling out a top two center attack of Hischier and O'Reilly would create offensive solutions for New Jersey and defensive nightmares for opponents trying to get through them.

What's more is an O'Reilly addition would also make the Devils incredibly deep up the middle once Hughes returns to action and would give them insurance if Hughes runs into injury issues again in the future. Unfortunately, that's something to keep in mind for GM Tom Fitzgerald.

Devils coach Sheldon Keefe knows O'Reilly after coaching him in Toronto for a brief time, so he'd ideally know how best to set him up and find the right wingers for him. It's a bit of a long-shot idea, but there are enough reasons and a connection for there to be a spark.

Boston Bruins

Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The Bruins are feeling themselves to start the season, and while they're riding high out of the gate, they're going to need to find a way to make it last to get back to the postseason. Adding a veteran like Ryan O'Reilly could give them the kind of consistent player up the middle to balance things out.

While Morgan Geekie has been a stunning star for the Bruins up the middle, guys like Pavel Zacha, Elias Lindholm, and Casey Mittelstadt are trying to make things work behind him up the middle. Zacha and O'Reilly have virtually matching stats and contracts, and Zacha has even improved his defensive play a bit. That kind of equal play could make the idea of adding O'Reilly a moot issue, but O'Reilly's history of reliable defensive play and faceoff ability gives him an edge.

The Bruins may have other areas they'd rather address than the center position, given their injuries and depth on defense. But any lineup deepening they can do while they battle with the rest of the Atlantic Division to see who can make the playoffs would be a huge help.

Vancouver Canucks

Danny Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Filip Hronek, Ryan O'Reilly and Thatcher Demko

This is an idea that, at first glance, is pretty ridiculous, but given how active Jim Rutherford is in Vancouver and how desperate Canucks ownership is to always try to compete, trading for Ryan O'Reilly is the kind of silly idea that makes total sense.

The Canucks are in the same boat as the Predators in the standings, and they've got a desperate need for security at center. They've been without Filip Chytil, and while Elias Pettersson has played well, lining up David Kämpf, Max Sasson, and Aatu Räty at center behind him is grim. O'Reilly would be an instant upgrade in the lineup, and that cannot be denied.

Vancouver is eager to trade veterans, and adding an even older veteran to the lineup doesn't make a lick of sense. Unless the Canucks' plan is to sink to the bottom and cross their fingers for lottery luck, it leaves them open to making some real wild deals that leave us all scratching our heads and wondering what in the world is going on. This would 100 percent be one of those deals, and it'd be one that would make O'Reilly wonder why he didn't have some trade protection in his contract.