Ryan O’Reilly: CH players asked Kent Hughes to sign him

The Canadiens weren’t very aggressive in opening the autonomous player market. However, some of the team’s players would have liked to see Kent Hughes make a certain acquisition on July 1: Ryan O’Reilly.

The information was reported by Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek on his 32 Thoughts podcast.

“I know there are CH players who were trying to convince Kent Hughes to bring Ryan O’Reilly to the team.” – Jeff Marek

This is quite surprising information. In fact, the Canadiens don’t really need centers right now. They already have Nick Suzuki, Kirby Dach, Sean Monahan, Christian Dvorak, Alex Newhook and Jake Evans.

Kent Hughes would therefore have been forced to conclude a transaction. Hughes must certainly try to get rid of Dvorak, but that seems to be very difficult to do.

In fact, Marek says the signing didn’t go through because the CH wouldn’t have enough room under the salary cap. According to Marek, Kent Hughes would have had to trade Brendan Gallagher or Josh Anderson to get the necessary cap space.

According to CapFriendly.com, the Canadiens are currently over the salary cap if Carey Price’s contract isn’t placed on the long-term injured list. That doesn’t leave much room for a new signing.

And don’t forget that Alex Newhook is still out of contract. The same goes for Jesse Ylönen.

O’Reilly finally signed a four-year deal with the Nashville Predators that will pay him an average of $4.5 million annually.

The Maple Leafs acquired him in February from the St. Louis Blues. He collected 30 points, including 16 goals, in 53 games in 2022-23 and 9 points in 11 games during the Toronto playoffs, helping the team win its first series since 2004.

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– Not easy, my Vernon.

Former Alouettes quarterback Vernon Adams JR. had a nasty night at work, throwing 6 interceptions in the Lions’ loss! 😬 pic.twitter.com/KUV5f81IJo

– RDS (@RDSca) July 4, 2023

– Cheering on our Canadians.

– A new NHL signing.