With all of the injuries piling up, I wrote in my most recent article that the Habs should stay the course and rely on their depth. To this I hold. However, if the Habs were to make a move, I would really do it for Ryan O’Reilly. I know I’ve spoken about him often as he is a player I love to watch. Here is a breakdown of what O’Reilly would bring to the team
O’Reilly has established himself as one of the best two way centres in the game. Looking at Hockey DB, he consistently puts up between 55-65 points a season, so the Habs know they will be getting scoring depth.
Furthermore his defensive play is one of his strengths. Despite owning a career -23, O’Reilly is extremely reliable in his own zone. All those minuses add up to him playing on some very bad Avalanche, Sabre and now Predator teams. This is a guy Martin St-Louis can rely on, and it would take some pressure off Evans to a certain degree.
O’Reilly is a known leader, having been captain of the Blues and wearing an A for the Sabres and team Canada at various points. He would bring a veteran presence which the Habs would benefit from being a young team. Also, he won the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2018-2019 and that playoff experience is invaluable.
Lastely, O’Reilly is tremendous in the face off dot. Looking at his career stats, he’s at 55.7 % which ranks him near the top in the NHL. Currently he owns a 56.4% winning percentage, so he has not regressed in this area. Furthemore, he is a left hand shot so this gives St-Louis options late in the game as Evans is a right hand shot.
At the end of the day, I’m not entirely sure what it would take to acquire O’Reily. A high draft pick and a prospect would certainly be on the list, but I honestly think it would be worth it for a player like O’Reilly.
