Bruins Listed As Trade Destination For Predators’ $18 Million Veteran
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With the Nashville Predators looking like a lottery team this season, many people think they’ll look to trade veteran center Ryan O’Reilly before the NHL trade deadline on March 6, and the Boston Bruins were recently suggested as a landing spot for the faceoff artist.
“The Bruins are feeling themselves to start the season, and while they’re riding high out of the gate, they’re going to need to find a way to make it last to get back to the postseason,” Bleacher Report’s Joe Yerdon wrote this week. “Adding a veteran like Ryan O’Reilly could give them the kind of consistent player up the middle to balance things out.”
“While Morgan Geekie has been a stunning star for the Bruins up the middle, guys like Pavel Zacha, Elias Lindholm, and Casey Mittelstadt are trying to make things work behind him up the middle. Zacha and O’Reilly have virtually matching stats and contracts, and Zacha has even improved his defensive play a bit. That kind of equal play could make the idea of adding O’Reilly a moot issue, but O’Reilly’s history of reliable defensive play and faceoff ability gives him an edge.”
“The Bruins may have other areas they’d rather address than the center position, given their injuries and depth on defense,” Yerdon continued. “But any lineup deepening they can do while they battle with the rest of the Atlantic Division to see who can make the playoffs would be a huge help.”
O’Reilly, 34, signed a four-year, $18 million deal with the Predators in July 2023. His NHL journey began with the Colorado Avalanche after the 2009 draft, where he honed his two-way game over six seasons. Traded to the Buffalo Sabres in 2015, he captained the team and earned the Lady Byng Trophy in 2014. In 2018, O’Reilly joined the St. Louis Blues, delivering a playoff masterpiece en route to the Stanley Cup, including the Conn Smythe and Selke awards.
After a 69-point 2023-24 campaign, O’Reilly’s 2024-25 season produced 53 points. In 2025-26 so far, O’Reilly has notched 21 points in 27 games, including his 300th career goal and a game-winner versus Chicago on December 1.
