Rumor mill: Ryan O’Reilly not ruling out a return to Toronto

Ryan O’Reilly was acquired by the Leafs at the last trade deadline from St. Louis.

The ultimate goal was to see him bring leadership to the room in Toronto, as the player has plenty of NHL experience. His Stanley Cup conquest with the Blues makes him an excellent veteran and role model, in the sense that he wore the “C” on his jersey with his former team.

But O’Reilly was a rental player. He finds himself without a contract for next season…

And it seems that the idea of staying in the Queen City is very much on his mind.

According to Pierre LeBrun, Brad Treliving has also expressed his desire to see him stay in the city. The scenario of him donning the Leafs’ blue-and-white uniform for the first game of next season is therefore very likely.

Milan Lucic… Back in Boston?

Let’s be frank. Milan Lucic’s golden years are behind him… And he doesn’t have much left to give in the NHL.

The veteran, who’s been in Calgary for four years now, has fallen off the pace since signing his last contract. His offensive production simply isn’t the same…

But the big forward still has some assets that could interest a few teams looking to add some grit to their line-ups.

In an interview with The Athletic, Lucic confessed that he is most interested in finding a destination that will fit in with his next team’s vision. After all, the player is now 35… And he wants a chance to win another Stanley Cup.

It’s partly for this reason that he’s not closing the door on a return to Boston.

Obviously, it’s a special place for me and it always will be. – Milan Lucic

What’s next for Milan Lucic? Plus the latest on O’Reilly, Hellebuyck, DeBrincat, Dubois and more in my latest Rumblings ⤵️

via @TheAthletic https://t.co/5mdLDEKpMK

– Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 21, 2023

This would be a special meeting for both teams. And, as much as we loved to hate the player when he wore a Bruins uniform…

It seems there’s a world out there where I wouldn’t hate to see him back in Boston for the end of his career. It would make a great story.

Alex Lyon wants to stay in Florida

In a special way, Alex Lyon played a role in the Panthers’ success last season.

It was he, after all, who propelled the team into the playoffs with a sublime performance in the closing stages of the campaign. Without him, we probably wouldn’t even have seen the Floridian outfit beaten in the Stanley Cup Final.

In short, Lyon will be eligible for full autonomy.

Lyon will be eligible for full autonomy this summer, but he has only one desire in mind: to stay in Florida.

The Lyon – Bobrovsky duo performed well at the end of the season, and their performances could encourage the organization to trust them for next season.

In such a scenario, however…

You’d have to wonder what the Panthers would do with Spencer Knight, who is one of the Bettman circuit’s fine young goalies.

Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power are in Buffalo to stay

The Sabres have the luxury of two excellent young defensemen in Owen Power and Rasmus Dahlin.

The latter simply exploded last season, claiming 73 points in 77 games. Power, for his part, was excellent in his very first NHL season, with a fine 35 points in 79 games.

And, let’s just say, the future looks bright in Buffalo, as both star defensemen hope to remain in the city for a “very long time”.

Both youngsters are eligible to sign new contracts this summer, and chances are we’ll see them sign multi-season deals with the Sabres.

Discussions are already well advanced between Dahlin, Power and the Sabres, by the way.

This is great news for the fans out there.

In gusto

– Bravo to him.

– Well done.

– Whoa !

– They have a lot of work to do, let’s put it that way.