After a busy offseason from Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Chris MacFarland, pressure will begin to rise for a few players.
The Predators saw their center depth deepen with the additions of Mavrik Bourque, Ross Colton, Jack Drury and Alex Kerfoot. It is the first stage of the MacFarland era of Nashville hockey, combining relevance with prospect development. His goal is to keep the team afloat in the standings while developing promising young players behind the scenes. That depth development could push out lingering names with uncertain long-term fit.
Following through with this plan involves what MacFarland calls "organizational pain," and part of that is waving goodbye to some of the franchise's most notable names; potentially one of those names is the Predators No. 1 center Ryan O'Reilly. He'll enter this season as an expiring unrestricted free agent, marking the near end of his four-year contract he signed in the summer of 2023.
Even though he was a top trade candidate not only for the Predators but also around the league, O'Reilly stuck around and stood by his non-contractual no-movement-clause former general manager Barry Trotz gave to him. Although it is a respectable decision, to think it could've returned substantial levels of trade value for the organization makes it questionable decision on Trotz's part. Now under new eyes, O'Reilly's time in Nashville could be nearing an end.
It goes without saying that the Predators can fetch a sweet trade package for their No. 1 center. With the center market seemingly always narrow, teams year after year send out their best offers to load up their forward cores. Considering this year's free agency class was particularly weak, many teams will be looking to fill holes in the lineup sooner than later. The timing on O'Reilly's contract and the chapter Nashville is entering this season means a trade is increasingly likely to happen.
There aren't any major trade rumors surrounding O'Reilly at this very moment, but that doesn't mean he won't have any in the future. Teams like the Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche, and New Jersey Devils either have expressed interest, or have been linked to O'Reilly in the past, and potentially more are bound to emerge as we get closer to the 2027 Trade Deadline.
Larkin-drama could push teams towards O'Reilly
One of the biggest headlines this summer came out of Detroit after its captain Dylan Larkin requested a trade, listing three teams as his desired destinations. In the months following the trade request, rumors since have died down as the team's main focus has been filling the hole left by Steve Yzerman, who stepped down as general manager back in July.
Given the unfolding circumstances, and unlikeliness of a Larkin trade occurring for the time being, O'Reilly's name could emerge as one of, if not the prime candidate for an immediate center acquisition for many teams. A trade occurring now is pretty unlikely however, mainly due to the fact MacFarland seems to want to test his roster first before making any rash decisions.
When the deadline comes around though, that's when we can expect a big trade in the works.
Realistically, I don't see MacFarland doing what Trotz did with Haula: don't trade him, and don't re-sign him. O'Reilly's trade return is just way too high to pass up on, and considering MacFarland is all about preparing for the future, asset acquisition is certainly one of the most important aspects of his campaign.
O'Reilly played his part for the Predators organization, but whether fans like it or not, they must prepare for an eventual goodbye. MacFarland has expressed his devotion to improving the team, even if it means trading away fan favorites, and O'Reilly could be next.
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