Confirmed Trade: [STL/BUF] Ryan O'Reilly for 2019 1st, 2021 2nd, Patrik Berglund, Vladimir Sobotka, and Tage Thompson

[67Blues]

O'Reilly is a great leader on the ice and has an infectious work ethic. It does seem he might have a bit of an egocentric personality, which is showcased by Papa O'Reilly and most likely why he's on his 3rd team in 5 years which is rare for a player of his caliber. I don't think he's captain material like many Avs fans initially thought during his time with in Colorado, but on a winning team he's absolutely a leader in the locker room.

Not all leaders have to wear a letter. I suspect ROR will have a voice in the locker room, but it will be one of many leadership voices so he doesn't have the pressure to always be THAT guy in the locker room.

 

[93LEAFS]

O'Reilly is a great leader on the ice and has an infectious work ethic. It does seem he might have a bit of an egocentric personality, which is showcased by Papa O'Reilly and most likely why he's on his 3rd team in 5 years which is rare for a player of his caliber. I don't think he's captain material like many Avs fans initially thought during his time with in Colorado, but on a winning team he's absolutely a leader in the locker room.

Everything I've heard about ROR the player (from people who played and coached him in minor hockey) screams high-character guy and a teammate you want. Now, things can dramatically change, but the guy wants to win and will try to do what it takes. Now (this is speculative), he might have a bit of an ego about how much work he puts in and how much he deserves to be compensated for being the hardest working guy.

 

[IndustryLeech]

The Blues will regret this trade when Ryan eventually goes full-O'Reilly. Dude's a selfish prick of a head case.

 

[Digable5]

Everything I've heard about ROR the player (from people who played and coached him in minor hockey) screams high-character guy and a teammate you want. Now, things can dramatically change, but the guy wants to win and will try to do what it takes. Now (this is speculative), he might have a bit of an ego about how much work he puts in and how much he deserves to be compensated for being the hardest working guy.

From my experience, I think Ryan O’Reilly says all the right things (apart from his “losing passion for the game” thing). He is very self deprecating and doesn’t point fingers. Normally that would make him very likeable, but maybe his teammates were starting to see through the BS.

There are rumors here in Buffalo that he wasn’t celebrating with the team (Eichel?) after goals at times. I don’t remember the reason, but why should that ever happen? Maybe a little passive aggressive, childish nonsense.

I like O’Reilly’s game and think he is a very talented hockey player. I wasn’t looking forward to him being traded and think they didn’t get enough for him. But, if he didn’t want to be in Buffalo anymore, it’s not really a good idea to hold him hostage and force him to make it work. Things would have just gotten uglier. I hope for the Blues fans sake that they win right away and that is all you need to make him happy. A happy O’Reilly could be a sight to behold.

 

[Tripod]

Crazy that Montreal has been trying to find a C for years yet St.L add 2 top 9 centres in a few hours and a top 6 centre in back to back years.

 

[Frenzy31]

Crazy that Montreal has been trying to find a C for years yet St.L add 2 top 9 centres in a few hours and a top 6 centre in back to back years.

While true, that doesn’t tell the hole story. I believe it begins and ends with drafting. Blues are very good at evaluation and though we have traded 3 first rounder, 4 if you include next years first, from 2015 on and draft in the bottom third of the first We still have a lot of solid prospects. There are a number of teams that would have Tage Thompson as one of their top two prospects. He was number 4 or 5 for the Blues.

Montreal doesn’t have that kind of prospect depth. And typically draft in the first half of the first round. They traded their top prospect for Drouin in hopes he could convert to center. It didn’t work and trading the 3oa for ROR doesn’t make sense.

 

[Dbrownss]

From my experience, I think Ryan O’Reilly says all the right things (apart from his “losing passion for the game” thing). He is very self deprecating and doesn’t point fingers. Normally that would make him very likeable, but maybe his teammates were starting to see through the BS.

There are rumors here in Buffalo that he wasn’t celebrating with the team (Eichel?) after goals at times. I don’t remember the reason, but why should that ever happen? Maybe a little passive aggressive, childish nonsense.

I like O’Reilly’s game and think he is a very talented hockey player. I wasn’t looking forward to him being traded and think they didn’t get enough for him. But, if he didn’t want to be in Buffalo anymore, it’s not really a good idea to hold him hostage and force him to make it work. Things would have just gotten uglier. I hope for the Blues fans sake that they win right away and that is all you need to make him happy. A happy O’Reilly could be a sight to behold.

We may not win a cup, but Blues shouldn't be in the basement every year. So in that sense, he'll be in a winning environment.

 

[Mike Liut]

From my experience, I think Ryan O’Reilly says all the right things (apart from his “losing passion for the game” thing). He is very self deprecating and doesn’t point fingers. Normally that would make him very likeable, but maybe his teammates were starting to see through the BS.

There are rumors here in Buffalo that he wasn’t celebrating with the team (Eichel?) after goals at times. I don’t remember the reason, but why should that ever happen? Maybe a little passive aggressive, childish nonsense.

I like O’Reilly’s game and think he is a very talented hockey player. I wasn’t looking forward to him being traded and think they didn’t get enough for him. But, if he didn’t want to be in Buffalo anymore, it’s not really a good idea to hold him hostage and force him to make it work. Things would have just gotten uglier. I hope for the Blues fans sake that they win right away and that is all you need to make him happy. A happy O’Reilly could be a sight to behold.

The Blues have a strong core group all around the same age as ROR which should help him. He will fit right in. Loads of talent too

 

[Colt55]

The Blues will regret this trade when Ryan eventually goes full-O'Reilly. Dude's a selfish prick of a head case.

Were you guys not saying he was a great team leader and that he was just tired of losing. Lol its funny how the narrative changes when your mad at the return.

 

[Not Sure]

While true, that doesn’t tell the hole story. I believe it begins and ends with drafting. Blues are very good at evaluation and though we have traded 3 first rounder, 4 if you include next years first, from 2015 on and draft in the bottom third of the first We still have a lot of solid prospects. There are a number of teams that would have Tage Thompson as one of their top two prospects. He was number 4 or 5 for the Blues.

Montreal doesn’t have that kind of prospect depth. And typically draft in the first half of the first round. They traded their top prospect for Drouin in hopes he could convert to center. It didn’t work and trading the 3oa for ROR doesn’t make sense.

But considering Montreal reached for a center at 3 hoping he becomes as good as O'Reilly they should have just traded the pick. If they were taking BPA then yeah, it was probably a bit of an overpay, but considering who they took it would have been like trading a lower pick.

 

[Dbrownss]

But considering Montreal reached for a center at 3 hoping he becomes as good as O'Reilly they should have just traded the pick. If they were taking BPA then yeah, it was probably a bit of an overpay, but considering who they took it would have been like trading a lower pick.

Montreal cant commit to a rebuild and dont the the FA pull anymore or have the currency to bolster the roster with trades. Just poor asset management

 

[tsujimoto74]

Not all leaders have to wear a letter. I suspect ROR will have a voice in the locker room, but it will be one of many leadership voices so he doesn't have the pressure to always be THAT guy in the locker room.

ROR is, by his own admission, not a vocal leader. He does everything right on the ice, but he's not that guy in the locker room.

 

[AMDZen]

Were you guys not saying he was a great team leader and that he was just tired of losing. Lol its funny how the narrative changes when your mad at the return.

This is deja vu for Avs fans. O'Reilly was just a greedy Dirtbag, that could never return the likes of Zadorov. And then of course after he did return that, he was an elite Center that was going to take Buffalo to the next level. After drafting eichel, it was cup here we come.

I genuinely feel for Buffalo fans. Both the Bills and the Sabres have been jokes in their perspective sports for most of their existence. The Jim Kelly days were something else. You almost have to assume that the city is cursed when such things happen. How can you go to 4 straight like that and lose them all?

I personally feel like it's similar to cities like Cleveland. These are some of the worst places you could possibly live in the US and the sports teams take after the cities much like a dog takes after its owner.

 

[Dbrownss]

This is deja vu for Avs fans. O'Reilly was just a greedy Dirtbag, that could never return the likes of Zadorov. And then of course after he did return that, he was an elite Center that was going to take Buffalo to the next level. After drafting eichel, it was cup here we come.

I genuinely feel for Buffalo fans. Both the Bills and the Sabres have been jokes in their perspective sports for most of their existence. The Jim Kelly days were something else. You almost have to assume that the city is cursed when such things happen. How can you go to 4 straight like that and lose them all?

I personally feel like it's similar to cities like Cleveland. These are some of the worst places you could possibly live in the US and the sports teams take after the cities much like a dog takes after its owner.

How is this similar? Orielly didnt return the likes of Thomas/Kyrou/Parayko. I'm sure not a single Blues fan is upset with the return. I haven't read every single post but it was Buffalo fans pumping his tires pretrade and now some are dumping on him post trade. Blues fans arent saying he's some elite guy who's to bring cups to stl, but he sure the heck is a big add for us given the price paid

 

[WTFMAN99]

Still can't get over how STL dummied BUF in this trade.

 

[Yatzhee]

This is deja vu for Avs fans. O'Reilly was just a greedy Dirtbag, that could never return the likes of Zadorov. And then of course after he did return that, he was an elite Center that was going to take Buffalo to the next level. After drafting eichel, it was cup here we come.

I genuinely feel for Buffalo fans. Both the Bills and the Sabres have been jokes in their perspective sports for most of their existence. The Jim Kelly days were something else. You almost have to assume that the city is cursed when such things happen. How can you go to 4 straight like that and lose them all?

I personally feel like it's similar to cities like Cleveland. These are some of the worst places you could possibly live in the US and the sports teams take after the cities much like a dog takes after its owner.

You don't know Western New York it's obvious. I grew up here, right on the Niagara River. I spent my childhood on adventures many can only dream. I would get dropped off on Strawberry island the day school ended at the end of June and wouldn't come back to the main land until the day before school started, early September and that happened for a number of years. As a teenager, I hiked and camped in grand locations such as Letchworth State Park, Alleghany county, the north counties of PA and so many other southerntier locations. Learned to hunt and fish, the many different and indigenous hardwoods, 3 and 4 wheeler treks on miles and miles of space, out on many boats, in open water in both lake Erie and Ontario, did my apprenticeship for industrial electrician at Thomas Edisons Adam Street workshop and Occidental Chemical's chlorine division. Played hockey in Western New York and Southern Ontario, just a fantastic area for such.

Yes, the city is a rust belt city, the region is as a whole. But it was Buffalo/Niagara Falls at the turn of the 19th to 20th century that is directly responsible for everything electronic you take for granted today. It was a manufacturing Mecca in it's day. No it doesn't have the big city appeal of fine dining and blocks and blocks of tall sky scrapers, it doesn't have a 3 to 8 million person population. It's small to mid size city is what is appealing. It's a fantastic place to raise a family, community is what it's all about.

Say what you will about the Western New York region, but I'm 48 years old, have traveled the world courtesy of Uncle Sam and lived and worked in 36 of the 50 United States. Buffalo may not be the monetary bastion of so many other cities, but it's definitely affordable, family orientated and is a hidden gem for those and so many more reasons. You can keep your big cities and bright lights, I'm more than happy, content, hell, even excited, to keep that small city appeal. As my grandparents loved it, my parents do as well, I came home after 24 years of travel I to, love it, and so do my kids, and now, their kids will experience it.

So before you start knocking an area, go travel, do the real research, live among the people and find out for yourself what an area really has to offer, because over 70% of that, is what you choose to do with it. Not some blanket statements and comments by individuals that really have no clue.

 

[AMDZen]

How is this similar? Orielly didnt return the likes of Thomas/Kyrou/Parayko. I'm sure not a single Blues fan is upset with the return. I haven't read every single post but it was Buffalo fans pumping his tires pretrade and now some are dumping on him post trade. Blues fans arent saying he's some elite guy who's to bring cups to stl, but he sure the heck is a big add for us given the price paid

It's exactly the same thing. Lol

I am not talking about blues fans, try and follow along here. They were telling us how RoR wasn't worth squat (as you said, dumping on him pre trade) and then arguing how they ripped off the Avs because RoR is so elite (pumping the tires, post trade). It wouldn't have mattered the return anyway, buffalo fans weren't even willing to give up zads for ror much less add on. And now it's absolutely in arguable that the Avs won that trade.

In this situation, it's reversed. But it's buffaloes fanbase in each instance. See the correlation?

 

[sufferer]

Still can't get over how STL dummied BUF in this trade.

Botterill dummied himself, St. Louis was just the beneficiary.

 

[Dbrownss]

It's exactly the same thing. Lol

I am not talking about blues fans, try and follow along here. They were telling us how RoR wasn't worth squat (as you said, dumping on him pre trade) and then arguing how they ripped off the Avs because RoR is so elite (pumping the tires, post trade). It wouldn't have mattered the return anyway, buffalo fans weren't even willing to give up zads for ror much less add on. And now it's absolutely in arguable that the Avs won that trade.

In this situation, it's reversed. But it's buffaloes fanbase in each instance. See the correlation?

Gotcha. Yea ours is the opposite but i get how its similar now. My favorite part is how Blues fans overrated Robert Thomas. then our GM envisioning Thomas pushing Orielly to the wing and centering Orielly and Tarasenko by Christmas.

 

[AMDZen]

You don't know Western New York it's obvious. I grew up here, right on the Niagara River. I spent my childhood on adventures many can only dream. I would get dropped off on Strawberry island the day school ended at the end of June and wouldn't come back to the main land until the day before school started, early September and that happened for a number of years. As a teenager, I hiked and camped in grand locations such as Letchworth State Park, Alleghany county, the north counties of PA and so many other southerntier locations. Learned to hunt and fish, the many different and indigenous hardwoods, 3 and 4 wheeler treks on miles and miles of space, out on many boats, in open water in both lake Erie and Ontario, did my apprenticeship for industrial electrician at Thomas Edisons Adam Street workshop and Occidental Chemical's chlorine division. Played hockey in Western New York and Southern Ontario, just a fantastic area for such.

Yes, the city is a rust belt city, the region is as a whole. But it was Buffalo/Niagara Falls at the turn of the 19th to 20th century that is directly responsible for everything electronic you take for granted today. It was a manufacturing Mecca in it's day. No it doesn't have the big city appeal of fine dining and blocks and blocks of tall sky scrapers, it doesn't have a 3 to 8 million person population. It's small to mid size city is what is appealing. It's a fantastic place to raise a family, community is what it's all about.

Say what you will about the Western New York region, but I'm 48 years old, have traveled the world courtesy of Uncle Sam and lived and worked in 36 of the 50 United States. Buffalo may not be the monetary bastion of so many other cities, but it's definitely affordable, family orientated and is a hidden gem for those and so many more reasons. You can keep your big cities and bright lights, I'm more than happy, content, hell, even excited, to keep that small city appeal. As my grandparents loved it, my parents do as well, I came home after 24 years of travel I to, love it, and so do my kids, and now, their kids will experience it.

So before you start knocking an area, go travel, do the real research, live among the people and find out for yourself what an area really has to offer, because over 70% of that, is what you choose to do with it. Not some blanket statements and comments by individuals that really have no clue.

Congrats, you liked where you lived. I honestly think that's awesome. Not sure that what I had to say about it would mean anything to you then, unless you feel deep down I am right. Otherwise, my opinion wouldn't matter. Except that it's a shared opinion by many others.

I've been to Buffalo, would never return. I honestly don't know or care about what happened in the city 100 years ago. I am sure it was a great city then, as others in the US were too. Detroit, Cleveland. In fact what you said actually adds to my argument. All of these cities were great, they aren't any longer.

You also rattled off a ton of things that wouldn't happen in the city, hunting, fishing, camping. Honestly if that is your bag, there aren't too many places in all of the US that can't fit those bills. Colorado has all that too. In fact, I can't think of a state in the union that doesn't.

Like I said, I feel bad for the actual fans because nobody of any significance is going to want to be there. It's not a nice place. Cleveland got lucky with LeBron to grow up there and for him to give them a championship, by the sweat of his brow. Maybe someday buffalo can get lucky too, or perhaps return to being a great city again.

 

[Dbrownss]

Still can't get over how STL dummied BUF in this trade.

I dont think they did, it was a fair price. Buffalo fans' asks on here were just too high. Botterill got his good prospect+1st+2nd.

 

[AMDZen]

Still can't get over how STL dummied BUF in this trade.

Honestly, I can't either. This is one of the most one sided trades I can remember. It's up there with the Seguin and Forsberg trades if RoR continues to be the great 2 way guy he has been.

And if the blues are still playing a defensive game like they did under Hitchcock (I didn't get a chance to watch much last year so I don't know if they are similar under the new coach) then he could be special in st Louis.

I still don't think they have enough to win a cup but I could be wrong.

 

[AMDZen]

I dont think they did, it was a fair price. Buffalo fans' asks on here were just too high. Botterill got his good prospect+1st+2nd.

Really? But they got seemingly no true asset back, unless the 2019 1st ends up being a good value pick which we won't know for a while. They could have gotten a blue chip prospect IMO that would matter later on down the road.

 

[WTFMAN99]

Honestly, I can't either. This is one of the most one sided trades I can remember. It's up there with the Seguin and Forsberg trades if RoR continues to be the great 2 way guy he has been.

And if the blues are still playing a defensive game like they did under Hitchcock (I didn't get a chance to watch much last year so I don't know if they are similar under the new coach) then he could be special in st Louis.

I still don't think they have enough to win a cup but I could be wrong.

Left side of defense is weak and although they have "good" centres, they lack an elite talent at centre. Insane depth though. I also dislike St.Louis's goaltending.

 

[Colt55]

How is this similar? Orielly didnt return the likes of Thomas/Kyrou/Parayko. I'm sure not a single Blues fan is upset with the return. I haven't read every single post but it was Buffalo fans pumping his tires pretrade and now some are dumping on him post trade. Blues fans arent saying he's some elite guy who's to bring cups to stl, but he sure the heck is a big add for us given the price paid

everyone i know was pretty much ecstatic that we dropped sobotka and berglund. They thought the second pick was a lil much but over all not one of my friends disliked the trade.