Tribute Ryan O'Reilly Appreciation Thread

[stl76]

I hope this thread is pre-mature and this is not the end of the relationship between ROR and the Blues...but if it is then wanted to take a minute and express my gratitude for this hockey player and human being. Will be forever grateful for his contributions and accomplishments in St. Louis. Much love and respect to Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe winner Ryan O'Reilly!

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[Blueston]

I think we will see 90 again in St. Louis. In the rafters.

 

[sfvega]

Everyone loved the deal when we made it. Granted, that was not knowing what Tage would become. But for as much as people thought they liked it at the time, I think the way he played far surpassed what we expected. From the Cup run to being the only skater to show up in the bubble to trying in vain to upset Colorado. He was a rock, and from that perspective I'll miss him a lot.

But still, what a deal.

 

[shpongle falls]

I’ll never forget that phone call Army had with Ryan after he traded for him, O‘ry says lets go win a cup and I won’t let you down. Then he goes and wins a cup and a Conn Smythe lol. I was beyond ecstatic when they made that trade. FINALLY the Blues had amazing center depth with ROR and Schenn down the middle.

Awesome player, going to miss him for sure. Will never forget how great he was for us and so glad he won a Cup here.

 

[BleedBlue14]

Fantastic player. Wish him nothing but the best. Hope he does come back, but not counting on it.

 

[stl76]

I’ll never forget that phone call Army had with Ryan after he traded for him, O‘ry says lets go win a cup and I won’t let you down. Then he goes and wins a cup and a Conn Smythe lol. I was beyond ecstatic when they made that trade. FINALLY the Blues had amazing center depth with ROR and Schenn down the middle.

Awesome player, going to miss him for sure. Will never forget how great he was for us and so glad he won a Cup here.

 

[Novacain]

The get in the greatest trade in franchise history. The Cup run was amazing, and it doesn't happen without him. It's hard to quantify his importance in such a short time period. There are a few Blues players from that team I think could, and probably should, have there names in the rafters when they hang it up, and O'Reilly is probably on the list even with the short tenure. I legitimately hope he tears it up for the Leafs, because you can't do anything quietly in Toronto.

 

[542365]

Deflected in the first goal in Game 7 after the Blues were struggling to find their footing. Got the team going, Marchand made the worst line change in NHL history and then the Blues put on the CLAMPS thanks in large part to ROR.

 

[Xerloris]

This hurts more than Tarasenko. Probably because ROR actually wanted to be here.

 

[stl76]

View attachment 652184

One of my all time favorite photos.

 

[TheDizee]

I think we will see 90 again in St. Louis. In the rafters.

I bet he is back next season

 

[TheDizee]

my favorite ROR moment was him setting the tone in game 4 after that rough loss to the bruins in game 3. scored in the first minute. then he set the tone again in game 5. and then in game 7.

while he is not the same player anymore, he is still a capable guy and i hope the team brings him back at a cheaper price in UFA. good luck in toronto but i hope you lose in round 1.

 

[Thallis]

I think we will see 90 again in St. Louis. In the rafters.

I don't think he had nearly the tenure or impact here to deserve that

 

[Blueston]

I don't think he had nearly the tenure or impact here to deserve that

Are you kidding? Why do you think he got Conn Smythe? ROR carried us on his back to Cup. That is more than sufficient In my book.

 

[Thallis]

Are you kidding? Why do you think he got Conn Smythe? ROR carried us on his back to Cup. That is more than sufficient In my book.

It was a single postseason you could argue multiple guys deserved it. He was great, especially in the final, but by no means did he carry us on his back. I just don't see jersey retirements for someone who spends 4 years of their 15-20 year career with us.

 

[Majorityof1]

Are you kidding? Why do you think he got Conn Smythe? ROR carried us on his back to Cup. That is more than sufficient In my book.

He won the Conn Smythe, but it was far from a sure thing. Several names were being floated before it was announced: Binner, Petro, and Schwartz were all viable candidates. I do think they made the right call to give it to O'Rei, but to say he carried the entire team on his back is a huge stretch. It was definitely a team effort.

Every number we have retired has played 9 or more seasons with us except Gassoff who is retired because he died while still a Blue. O'Reilly only has 5 seasons. He's not in the top 25 in all time games plated, goals or points, ranking 30 in two categories and 33 in the other. He is top 10 in playoff goals and points, and has the conn smyth, so there are arguments for it. Its just not enough unless we are aiming to retire all the numbers.

I think Pietrangelo has a much better track record as the first Blue to hoist the cup (captain), 5th in GP and 11th in points as a defensman. I'm not sure he should get it, but he definitely gets it before ROR.

 

[TruBlu]

You really can't help but love ROR. The cup does not come here without his acquisition. I wish him the best and will secretly hold out hope he wants to come back on a team friendly contract in the offseason.

 

[Hrkac Circus]

Those days of the Cup run were magical. I would have loved to have been on that flight back from Boston.

 

[Novacain]

Are you kidding? Why do you think he got Conn Smythe? ROR carried us on his back to Cup. That is more than sufficient In my book.

This always is amusing to me how it gets written like O’Reilly single handedly brought the Cup here. He actually had a very slow start to that post-season. I usually describe it that Schwartz was our best player in the first two series, O’Reilly was our best player in the last two series, and Pietrangelo was our most consistently great player for the entire playoffs (outside of maybe Binnington)

 

[BlueDream]

Much bigger fan of O’Reilly than I was Tarasenko.

Trading Vladi was an easy choice and we are fine without him. Losing ROR is going to be a tough hole to fill.

 

[ezcreepin]

There have been big trades in this franchise's history, but none had a bigger impact than the O'Reilly trade. Highway robbery at the time and I wouldn't change a thing. He's also one of few players I've seen where nobody has a bad thing to say about him in the 15+ years I've been actively watching hockey. I'll love him forever and I hope he does well in Toronto.

That being said, the feel I've gotten from everyone in the org when they're asked a question about O'Reilly is "You never know" in reference to him coming back in the offseason. I have no evidence for this, but typically you don't see those types of answers or mentions of a player coming back once the season is over and people seem to hint at him maybe coming back to St. Louis. It feels like the percent of him re-signing here is greater than 70% and I'd be floored if he came back. Let's hope he doesn't like Toronto as much

 

[Bobby Orrtuzzo]

We all owe this man a large part of our gratitude for what he did for this city/fan base. I saw someone post it in one of the other threads but this officially closes the book of what was the greatest chapter in this teams history. I for one am thankful I got to enjoy it with my old man and all the other friends and family who inspired (some would say cursed pre-2019) me to root for this team. What the future may hold…we shall see. But the memories will always be there.

Not that you’ll see this, but thank you Ryan, and who knows, maybe we’ll see you again.

 

[Louie the Blue]

Are you kidding? Why do you think he got Conn Smythe? ROR carried us on his back to Cup. That is more than sufficient In my book.

I think the ROR trade is arguably the most impactful trade in franchise history (others may argue Hull, Pronger, Shanahan/Stevens fiasco but point is, very watershed caliber trade) and enjoyed his time as a Blue and have nothing bad to say about him.

HOWEVER, ROR didn't run away with the Conn Smythe. He won it because he had a great SCF. I'd argue the weakest of his 4 series was SJ and that the most consistent player for every series to make a high level of impact was either Pietrangelo or Binnington, both of which also played a great SCF and you could argue Binnington's performance in Game 7 alone was more impactful than any game ROR had during that series. Schwartz also had a great first 3 series before becoming a ghost in the SCF.

 

[Bluesish]

It doesn't matter if ROR was here for 4 years or 14, his contributions during the 2019 season alone are enough to make him a Blues legend. It sucks that it ended this way and I hope he comes back for the '23 season, but Armstrong made the right decision.

Unpopular opinion: I would like to see ROR be a huge part of another cup run at the cost of a slightly lower pick.

 

[Bluesguru]

Should be a Blue for life. He belongs here. Hope he comes back.