It was reported earlier this summer by the Toronto Star’s Nick Kypreos that Ryan O’Reilly tried to lobby the Nashville Predators to engineer a trade for Toronto Maple Leafs star winger Mitch Marner. Marner has been subject to rampant trade speculation throughout the summer but O’Reilly went to bat for his former teammate and it’s easy to see why he likely recommended him to Nashville’s front office this summer.
“He brings so many things,” O’Reilly said to TSN’s Mark Masters, when asked about what Marner brings to the game. “He’s so competitive but I just think how elusive he is. The way he can create plays and just being off-balance, being able to put these pucks in the right areas. He’s such a competitor and in the short time I got to play with him, it was just so fun, the way he sees the game at such a unique level.”
O’Reilly’s stint with the Maple Leafs was brief, joining the team ahead of the 2023 trade deadline. The former Selke Trophy winner formed an ‘Ontario’ line with Marner and John Tavares, which culminated in a February 2023 hat-trick against the Buffalo Sabres. O’Reilly then broke his finger while blocking a shot, missing four weeks during the regular season. He returned in time for the playoffs but was still nursing the injury, while recording three goals and six assists during the 2023 playoffs, where the Maple Leafs were eliminated in the second round by the Florida Panthers.
As a fellow Ontario-born star who graduated from the Greater Toronto Hockey League, O’Reilly perhaps has a unique perspective on what it means to be a Maple Leaf and explained what the blue-and-white means to Marner, and the rest of the fan base.
“Oh gosh, it’s something so much more than your average team! This is one of the faces of hockey being. Being in the golf tournament, people want to know what you’re drinking in the room or having for lunch.”
O’Reilly was lauded for his two-way excellence and Stanley Cup-winning pedigree, having captured the Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy with the St. Louis Blues in 2019 and his ties to the Maple Leafs remain strong, with former Blues head coach Craig Berube now manning the bench for the Maple Leafs.
Marner has been subject to so much unfair criticism since the playoffs ended and O’Reilly’s remarks are a reminder that he’s still celebrated across the league for his hockey intelligence and playmaking abilities.
