Next up on Predlines player previews for the 2025-26 season is Ryan O'Reilly. The 34-year-old has put up back-to-back 20-goal seasons with Nashville. Will he continue his streak this season or will his age catch up to him?
Ryan O'Reilly's Stats Last Season
Nashville Predators: 79 games, 21 goals, 32 points
Team Canada: 8 games, 2 goals, 2 assists
O'Reilly's Age Prompts Questions of Consistency for Nashville
He's a Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe, Frank J. Selke winning centerman with more than a decade of NHL experience. O'Reilly has been in the league for so long that he's one of the few players who isn't required to wear a visor on their helmet. At 34 years old, O'Reilly hasn't really shown any sign of regression. Just a couple seasons ago, he put up his 2nd best year on record with 69 points.
Factor signed a 4-year deal with Nashville back in 2023. What at first was a bit of a gamble due to his age has paid off a bit for the Preds. However, as he enters his 3rd year, things are beginning to look a bit shaky. Having a 34-year-old as your first line center isn't really acceptable in many cases. The Pittsburgh Penguins have Sidney Crosby, but we can see how that's turning out for them just by looking at the standings.
Now I'm not saying O'Reilly is washed because his stats show otherwise. For starters, he hasn't slowed down in the faceoff department as he won 55.7% of his draws last year. More than half of his assists were counted as primary showing his creative and selfless side of his game. Per Moneypuck, he also prompted 31 takeaways which helped to kickstart plays in the opposition's end.
Being on a pretty bad Nashville Predators team took a toll on some stats for O'Reilly though. He created nearly 64 giveaways—23 of which were in the defensive zone—which is the most he's put up in a season ever. For the second straight season, he's scored less goals than expected with last year coming in at -7.8 goals than expected.
We should hopefully see O'Reilly perform a lot like his 2023-24 self with the improvements on defense. As a two-way forward, he often had to step up in situations the weak Preds D-core couldn't. His 72 blocked shots last year (a career high) show how much he was prioritized as Nashville's 7th defenseman at times. With the core now in check, he might focus more on offense which in turn will bring this whole team up another level.
Growing Youth Movement Might Challenge O'Reilly's Top-Six Ice time
Predlines recently explored Fedor Svechkov's outlook this season and we concluded that he's a prime candidate for top six minutes. This along with General Manager Barry Trotz's goal of getting him into the top six might threaten O'Reilly's stability at center. He isn't the most flexible forward on the roster as I've only really seen him play center.
Svechkov, who's also only a center, needs some more time on the ice to grow into his shell. If goes up in the lineup, someone either needs to go to the wing or go down in the lineup. More than likely Head Coach Andrew Brunette will put Steven Stamkos on the wing where he belongs. However, if he believes Stammer belongs at center, next up is O'Reilly.
O'Reilly is one of the league's best two-way centerman so moving him down would be pretty ridiculous. We are approaching the next era of Nashville hockey and with that comes moving on from some of the veterans. Trading O'Reilly isn't too much of an issue since he doesn't have a single clause on his contract. If Trotz is willing to retain some money on his end then a trade could be possible.
In the meantime, I still expect O'Reilly to be Nashville's number one centerman for the time being. If he remains consistent and returns to his former self than I see a pretty bright future for the Predators' top line.