Over the past 72 hours, another popular rumor has swirled around the NHL about another player getting traded from the Nashville Predators.
Ryan O'Reilly, who's had his fair share of trade rumors throughout the season, has seen a massive spike in chatter.
National media outlets have mentioned teams like the Maple Leafs, Capitals, Devils, and Avalanche as potential destinations for the Predators' assistant captain.
On the surface, it'd make sense.
He leads the Predators in scoring with 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists) in 34 games as the first-line center with Filip Forsberg and Luke Evangelista. At 34 years old and in the third year of a 4-year, $18 million contract with a AAV of $4.5 million, O'Reilly is a player a lot of teams could realistically go after.
He's a veteran who is over-performing for his age and doesn't cost much. A handful of outlets have gone as far as saying he should be in a third-line role and not in such an amplified role in Nashville. Less pressure to play on a contender.
Given his age, it's assumed that O'Reilly would like to compete for another cup before he retires. He's currently playing on the Predators team that is tied for last place in the NHL after starting the first month and a half of the season at 6-12-4.
O'Reilly has been vocal about his own individual frustrations, giving himself a tongue-lashing after a 3-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Nov. 6.
"I know for myself, I'm the number one center and I'm turning the puck over wherever," O'Reilly said. "I can't make a 6-foot pass to save my life. You're not going to have much success if I'm playing pathetic like that...I've had one good year in my career."
That quote alone is one that many experts and analysts have gone back to in defense of O'Reilly's "not being happy in Nashville."
All of that makes a good defense as to why O'Reilly would be gone by the trade deadline, but taking a closer look at the Predators, currently, and O'Reilly, it feels like the rumors are a lot of noise with little or dated substance.
A lot has happened since O'Reilly made that comment after the Flyers game. Nashville has won eight of its last 12, most recently defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-3, on Saturday.
In that stretch, O'Reilly has scored 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in 12 games, playing an integral role in the Predators' turnaround and logging top-line minutes.
A lot of what the Predators have been doing lately has been conveniently voided when talking about why O'Reilly should leave. Both head coach Andrew Brunette and the players have said over the last few games that the work and effort are beginning to pay off, and they're starting to get positive results.
O'Reilly is playing well and is now getting support for the first time this season. He most likely wants to see how this run will play out, at least, instead of leaving right in the middle of it.
Then there's the word "rebuild," which is more complex than just burning everything down and starting from scratch. General manager Barry Trotz has said before that the team is rebuilding, but not in the sense of a ground-up rebuild.
They want to progressively get younger players into the line up and have them working with the veterans. Evangelista has been a prime example of that, 23-years old on the first line, playing with O'Reilly and Forsberg, and amounting 24 points in 33 games.
Veterans rumored to want to leave are expected to play a significant role in ushering in the next generation. Dumping them off would go against what we've been hearing about for the last five months.
But that's not to say Trotz isn't entertaining the idea of trading players. That's still happening, but not in the sense of giant blockbuster deals.
Defenseman Spencer Stastney is an example of that, who was traded to the Edmonton Oilers this season for a 2027 third-rounder. He's a player who has had a good, steady year, but is not one of the Predators' superstars.
Those are the kind of players that Trotz will be trying to get more from in the market.
While everyone is talking about O'Reilly, Steven Stamkos and Juuse Saros, they should be focused more on Michael Bunting, Erik Haula and Nick Blankenburg.
Bunting specifically, who has 19 points in 34 games on Nashville's third line, could be huge for any team looking to add bottom-six depth. Haula leads the Predators on power play points with eight and is a veteran center.
Blankenburg, despite being on the shorter side at 5-feet-9-inches, gave the Predators an unexpected spark from the blue line, tallying 14 points, which is the second most among defenseman. Roman Josi leads that category with 15 points.
Contract-wise, Bunting is in the final year of a 3-year, $13.5 million contract with an AAV of $4.5 million. Haula is in the final year of a 3-year, $9.45 million deal with a $3.15 annual hit. Blankenburg is in the final year of a 2-year, $1.55 million contract with a $775,00 AAV.
They're pieces that you can move around instead of having to fill in giant gaps. Good hockey players who will heighten any team's interest in the league and help the Predators become deeper.
And then there is the most apparent reason why an O'Reilly trade isn't going to happen anytime soon: he doesn't want to leave Nashville yet.
Pierre LeBrun reported on Dec. 19 that O'Reilly informed interested teams that he "isn't ready to entertain the idea of a trade at this time." He added that he likes Nashville and wants to be part of the solution rather than abandon ship.
LeBrun even added in The Athletic article that an O'Reilly trade "may not happen at all."
If the personal aspects count for anything, O'Reilly would also be moving a wife and four kids to the next team. He is also somewhat involved in the Nashville music scene, singing backup vocals for an Irish bluegrass band called JigJam and recently releasing a children's song.
He's in Nashville to play hockey, but this is the best NHL market to be as a musician.
O'Reilly getting traded isn't the craziest thing in the world, but given the current state of the Predators and their future intentions, it doesn't make sense why he'd want to leave now or why the team would want to trade him.
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