Nashville Predators general manager Barry Trotz is keeping all options on the table with his team currently on track to miss the playoffs for the third time in the past four years.
The Predators are currently four points back of the San Jose Sharks for the final wild-card spot with one more game played. With the Predators still in the race, Trotz was asked Wednesday by 102.5 The Game whether it was safe to say veteran forward Ryan O’Reilly will not be moved ahead of the March 6 trade deadline.
O’Reilly, 34, is putting together one of the best seasons of his career with 18 goals and 51 points through 52 games. He’s on pace to tie his career high of 28 goals and post 80 points for the first time.
“No, I think everything has to be on the table,” Trotz said of closing the door on any trade speculation. “I have not had any conversations with Ryan on his situation. I have to listen to all offers. If there’s an offer that blows my mind a bit, then I have to listen.
“But at the same time, we’re not in the playoffs. And that’s the bottom line. As I said early in the year, nothing’s off the table, and it shouldn’t be.”
The 6-foot-1 centre is in the third season of a four-year, $18 million deal with an annual cap hit of $4.5 million. He is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after next season.
Drafted 33rd overall by the Colorado Avalanche in 2009, O’Reilly has 321 goals and 875 points in 1,204 career games split between the Avalanche, Buffalo Sabres, St. Louis Blues, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Predators.
O’Reilly helped lead the Blues to their first Stanley Cup championship in 2019, recording eight goals and 23 points in 26 playoff games en route to winning the Conn Smythe Trophy.
He also won the Selke Trophy in 2019 as the league’s best defensive forward and won the Lady Byng Trophy in 2014 as the league’s most gentlemanly player while a member of the Avalanche.