St. Louis Blues Must Be In Ryan O'Reilly Sweepstakes

Doug Armstrong supposedly has a lot of freedom to make some upgrades to the Blues this offseason. While he might not be everyone’s first option, the Blues need to be looking to Buffalo for an answer.

The St. Louis Blues are in need of a center. Whether that person is a true number one center or someone who can supplement Brayden Schenn’s role is up to the reader.

Doug Armstrong has apparently been given plenty of room by ownership to find this piece, via free agency or a trade. While there are plenty out there who are cynical, plenty are salivating as well.

The Blues currently have almost $13 million to spend and that is not taking into account the assumed raising of the cap ceiling. So, there is money to spend.

Clearly the one on everyone’s wish list is John Tavares and why would he not be?

He’s a regular 30-goal scorer. He has not failed to score 60 points or more since 2012-13 in a work-stoppage shortened season. Even his rookie year, he had 54 points. He’s any star-starved hockey fan’s dream.

The problem is there are 30 other teams that have the same dream. Not all of those teams have the money, but that does not mean they don’t all want him.

That makes things difficult for a team like the Blues. While we all love St. Louis, is isn’t the first destination most players have in mind before they have a chance to play here and fall in love with the city.

That means the Blues would have to throw extra money his way. As good a player as Tavares is and can be, it’s just hard for me to fathom paying anyone $10 million or more per season and fielding a good team behind them for the future.

More from Editorials

So, combining the cost and the rumor that he might stay on Long Island anyway, it’s time to look elsewhere. No need to look far as the city to the north of New York has an intriguing possibility. The word is that Ryan O’Reilly is being shopped.

The Blues absolutely have to be in those talks if that is true. While there is no agreement across the board that he is even available, you have to make that call.

According to Darren Dreger, it would likely cost a young NHL talent or prospect, a pick and perhaps more. Normally, I’d say that’s too much, but the Blues have enough to pay that price and be alright.

Much of it would depend on exactly what the Buffalo Sabres want. However, if St. Louis could package something like Robby Fabbri, Erik Foley (who the Blues haven’t even seen) and a pick and get O’Reilly back, you do it.

Fabbri has a lot of upside, but we don’t know if he’ll ever be the same. We know what O’Reilly is.

The SportingNews link above lists him as one of the league’s best two-way players. While he is not as prodigious as Tavares, he is no less consistent.

O’Reilly has scored 50-points or more in every full NHL season since 2011-12. He is more of an assist man, so Blues fans would need to be fine with 20-plus goals.

More importantly, he does not break the bank. O’Reilly is not cheap at $7.5 million per season, but he’s locked up at that cost through 2022-23.

It would suck to give up a nice prospect piece, but if we are truly focused on the now, you have to make that move.

O’Reilly will only be 31 by the end of this contract, which is still plenty young enough to produce. So, if you can swing a 50-point scorer for some pieces that you’re not sure will suit up or be what they were, you do it.

He can play any of the three forward positions, but has flourished as a center. He’s also putting up big points on a Buffalo team that has gotten worse since he arrived and on a Colorado team that was floundering as well.

If you surround O’Reilly with more talent, he’s going to flourish the same as Schenn did. Perhaps he won’t have career numbers like Schenn, but he would help this Blues team a lot.

O’Reilly has good defensive numbers overall, with his point shares almost equal to Tavares on the back end. He blocks shots and will throw a hit here or there. He takes care of the puck too, never having a season of more than 39 giveaways (Tavares has never had fewer than 40).

Next: What Will Joel Edmundson Cost The Blues?

We’d all like to add the big man from the Islanders. The reality is that is just is not likely.

O’Reilly would be more than a consolation prize. You would have to give something up besides money, but the payoff could be more than worth it.

Home / Editorials