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Ryan O'Reilly hints at desire to return to the Leafs

Adam Laskaris
Adam Laskaris
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Jun 8 2023, 3:42 pm
Ryan O'Reilly hints at desire to return to the Leafs
John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

It’s hard to imagine Ryan O’Reilly giving a more glowing review of his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Having spent the entirety of his NHL career playing with the Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues, and Buffalo Sabres prior to being sent to the Leafs this past season, O’Reilly joined TSN 1050’s OverDrive program on Wednesday to discuss his stint in Toronto.

“It’s a big change coming to the mecca of hockey, yeah, just it’s weird,” O’Reilly told TSN 1050. “People say, they’re a great hockey town, they love love the game. But here, it’s, it’s more than just the game, it’s a lifestyle, it’s everything.”

O’Reilly had four goals and seven assists in 13 regular season games for the Leafs following the deadline, though he missed nearly a month with a broken finger. Come playoff time, he found the net three times while adding six assists in 11 playoff contests, but put up just a goal and an assist in the Leafs’ second-round playoff loss to the Florida Panthers.

“It was so many things we could have done differently [against Florida]. It’s frustrating. And I think we could have gave that series a better chance. And that’s just the way the game goes sometimes,” O’Reilly added. “I wish I could have done better and I know other guys feel that way too.”

A respected veteran around the league with a resume that includes the 2019 Selke and Conn Smythe awards on his way to the Stanley Cup with the Blues, O’Reilly came to the Leafs via a three-way trade with a pair of reduced salary transactions that saw Toronto have just 25% of his initial $7.5 million cap hit, totalling as $1.875 million on their salary sheet.

“Just this month, things will start to kind of heat up and, you know, hopefully, things go where we like,” O’Reilly said about his pending free agency.

Evovling-Hockey.com currently projects O’Reilly’s next deal as a three-year contract worth $5.53 million per year. It’s not impossible for the Leafs to find the money to sign O’Reilly in about that range, although it’d require new general manager Brad Treliving to make some tough calls about whether the value of re-signing him could be replaced by a series of cheaper players.

Toronto currently has just 33 of a possible 50 NHL contracts signed for next season per CapFriendly, with plenty of decisions to be made ahead about the future of the franchise.

“It definitely is something very special [to play in Toronto]. And you know, we’ll [see if] everything works out and [we can] get something done. But yeah, to be a Leaf and experience that, it’s such a different thing that I wish every guy in the league got to kind of experience,” O’Reilly said. “It’s more than just the game here. It’s something really above and beyond.

A native of Clinton, Ontario, — located about two hours northwest of Toronto — O’Reilly emphasized how special it was to play for the Leafs in his 14th NHL season.

“Growing up a few hours west of here, the community there, they’ve always supported me, but now I’m playing for their team,” O’Reilly added. “And just like my parents, myself, my whole family and just how much everyone we’re kind of just felt more part of it and brought in. As an organization, it was just incredible, you know, anything you could possibly think of, you know, the Leafs took care of.”

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