Ryan O'Reilly could have re-signed with the Maple Leafs and attempted to bring a Stanley Cup back to his home province, however, he opted to join the re-tooling Nashville Predators instead.
The 32-year-old recently spoke to the media and explained his reasoning for leaving Toronto.
O'Reilly reveals why he left Toronto
"It was and is an amazing place to play". O'Reilly said of Toronto. "Just putting on that jersey, you can feel the love that comes with it, how much pride people take in that jersey. It's hockey's team. It was definitely not an easy decision not to (re-sign) there."
Playing in Toronto is no easy task. The constant media attention as Hockey's biggest franchise can be a lot to handle for some players.
He also mentioned the importance of hockey in Toronto:
"You can tell everything's amplified. I don't do it often, (but) it was a good thing when I played there that I didn't turn on the TV much or turn on the radio, because there are (so many outlets) talking about it. Everything's covering it, discussing it. Here (Nashville), it gets little time on the TV, but it's not everything. It's more than just a game there (Toronto)."
Why O'Reilly chose Nashville
When he was asked why he chose Nashville, he said:
"There were just so many things that were attractive about it. We have something here that, if we do things the right way, we're going to be very competitive."
Nashville will rely heavily on O'Reilly heading into the 2023-24 season. He is likely to become the teams number-one center, after the Predators lost Ryan Johansen and Matt Duchene in the off-season.
Nashville gave O'Reilly a 4-year deal worth $4.5 Million AAV, a price that Toronto was unlikely to pay given their tough cap situation.
O'Reilly, who won the Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe Trophy, and Selke Trophy in 2018-19 with the St. Louis Blues, has tallied 702 points in 991 career games.
Will Nashville make the Playoffs this season?
Yes
No
