Ryan O’Reilly: “Unlikely he’ll say yes to a trade to Montreal”

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Ryan O’Reilly: “Unlikely he’ll say yes to a trade to Montreal”
Credit: NHL.com

Ryan O'Reilly does not have a no-trade clause in his contract.

However, because he is a quality veteran, Barry Trotz has decided that he will not trade him (if he ever ends up being sent elsewhere, of course) to a place against his will.

Will the next Preds GM do the same if O'Reilly ends up finishing the 2025-2026 season in Nashville? Who knows.

All this to say that the veteran Canadian center controls his own destiny. And if he doesn't want to uproot himself 16 months away from free agency, Barry Trotz will keep him.

But if he were to leave, where would he go?

In an article on the Sportsnet website, Nick Kypreos mentioned that the Predators veteran would not want to say yes to a trade involving the Montreal Canadiens. Why? Because he would want to go somewhere quieter.

“It's unlikely that he would say yes to a trade to Montreal.” – Nick Kypreos

From what we understand from reading the text, O'Reilly's decision is not necessarily guided by the way the CH is run: it's more that the Montreal market doesn't appeal to him.

The Ontario native played in Toronto in 2023 for a few months… and immediately after that, he chose to sign with Nashville. This gives us a clue as to his priorities—which is entirely his prerogative.

The Canadiens are interested in a player like him. But since he is 35 years old and his contract ($4.5 million on the cap) does not expire this season, we imagine that Kent Hughes would not have wanted to pay too much for his services.

This is despite the fact that the center has 20 goals and 56 points in 57 games since the start of the season.


In a nutshell

– Good news.

– Alex Newhook: an important test.

– Read more.

— Jordan Binnington: a first-round pick involved if he is traded? [TSN]

– He learned a lot.

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