A major piece of information has been revealed regarding the rumor of Ryan O'Reilly being sent to the Canadiens
A few hours before the start of free agency, Elliotte Friedman surprised everyone by mentioning that the Canadiens were among the teams interested in acquiring veteran Ryan O'Reilly's services.
Unfortunately for the fans who were hoping to see him land in Montreal, the 32-year-old forward signed a four-year contract worth $18 million with the Nashville Predators.
However, Jeff Marek revealed a major piece of information regarding the potential arrival of Ryan O'Reilly with the Canadiens. According to his sources, several players within the organization had tried to convince General Manager Kent Hughes to sign the centerman, but the Habs couldn't find a way to fit him under the team's salary cap.
Wow! It's very interesting to learn that it was the Canadiens players themselves who directly made the request to Kent Hughes.
This statement clearly shows that the players are tired of losing and are determined to be competitive, starting from next season. This is certainly great news for the fans, as they seem determined to get back to winning ways.
Ryan O'Reilly could have been a significant addition to Martin St-Louis' lineup, given his performance of 7 goals and 13 assists (20 points) in 24 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The forward is still considered one of the best two-way centers in the NHL and would have undoubtedly been an excellent mentor for young centermen like Nick Suzuki, Kirby Dach, and Alex Newhook.
However, we will have to forget about this possibility as Ryan O'Reilly continues his career with Nashville.
| POLL | ||
Would you have liked to see Ryan O'Reilly sign a four-year contract worth $4.5 million annually with the Canadiens? | ||
| Yes | 45 | 52.3 % |
| No | 41 | 47.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
