<p>Ryan O’Reilly is back in the Central Division after signing a 4-year, $18 million contract with the Nashville Predators on Saturday.</p>



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Confirming Ryan O'Reilly to Nashville, four years, $4.5M AAV per season</p>— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) <a href="https://twitter.com/PierreVLeBrun/status/1675181021690511360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 1, 2023</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>O’Reilly was among the most sought-after free agent centermen thanks to his Selke-winning defense, leadership, and speed.</p>



<p>The forward joins Nashville after a brief Eastern vacation with the Toronto Maple Leafs, who acquired him for the home stretch of the 2022-2023 season on a rental basis.</p>



<p>O’Reilly captained the St. Louis Blues from 2019 until Toronto traded for him in February; he won the Conn Smythe and Selke Trophies during the team’s Stanley Cup-winning 2019 campaign.</p>



<p>Though O’Reilly’s offense was down last season (30P in 53GP) thanks to a slow start, he came to life in Toronto despite missing significant time with a broken hand.</p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="137"></div>



<p>He followed up a regular season sample size of 4 goals and 11 points in 13 games with an equally impressive 3 goals and 9 points in 11 playoff contests for the Leafs.</p>



<p>For $4.5 million AAV, O’Reilly is quite the coup for rookie GM Barry Trotz, who coached the team from 1998 until 2014. Earlier in the offseason, Trotz jettisoned long-time Preds Ryan Johansen and Matt Duchene for cap reasons; signing the former Blue will go a long way toward rebuilding the team’s depth in the middle of the ice.</p>



<p>Nashville only narrowly missed the postseason in 2023 despite selling off veterans at the trade deadline and will hope Trotz, O’Reilly, and new coach Andrew Brunette can restore the club to contention.</p>
