This week, on the Let’s Go Devils Podcast, we talked to Joe Yerdon of Bleacher Report. He just wrote about Ryan O’Reilly and where he could end up if the St. Louis Blues season continues to go down the toilet. He talked about the impact O’Reilly could have as a third-line center for the New Jersey Devils. Going down the line with Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and O’Reilly could make the Devils the best forward group in the league.
SOTFA EP190: Devils Keep Rolling Through NHL | Special Guests: Joe Yerdon @JoeYerdon & Kristy Flannery @InStilettos_NHL @pitchforkedpuck @PrimetimeSamWoo @nick_villano #NJDevils #NHL #AHL https://t.co/RMr8Zxsgqm
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However, adding O’Reilly to a center role doesn’t make the most sense. Lindy Ruff’s lines have very clear roles. The top two lines drive all the offense. Michael McLeod, Fabian Zetterlund/Nathan Bastian, and Miles Wood provide a change of pace and structure to the game. Then, the third line usually does its own thing. It’s hard to explain what Yegor Sharangovich, Jesper Boqvist, and Alex Holtz do as a group, but they all play different roles across the roster. Adding O’Reilly to that line puts a different kind of pressure on that line.
However, Hughes could desperately use an experienced scorer on his line. Right now, he’s rocking with Erik Haula and Dawson Mercer. They are fine, but it’s not the best situation to be in. Haula takes the faceoffs, then Hughes plays center for the rest of the play. It’s weird, but it works.
The issue is Haula’s inability to finish the wonderful chances he’s given. He has 25 individual high-danger chances but zero 5v5 goals. He’s fifth on the team in chances, but he can’t score. The Devils need someone on that line who can score.
O’Reilly is tied with Vladimir Tarasenko with six 5v5 goals this season. He has one fewer individual high-danger chance than Haula, and he’s not playing every night with Jack Hughes. Now imagine if he was. O’Reilly’s skills could pretty easily translate to the Hughes line. The only thing he needs to do is accept the new role.
Is O’Reilly willing to take a faceoff and then play wing for the rest of the play? He’s been doing the same thing on the ice for his entire career. Is he willing to do something completely different for a chance to win another championship?
The Devils would love to get O’Reilly on the team. He’s close to the perfect compliment to this team’s skillset. O’Reilly plays an incredible two-way game. He can fit into different needs while playing all special teams. If he’s on Hughes line, that line will score more. It’s just the facts. O’Reilly knows how to find the back of the net better than Haula. He plays that same role while just being a better offensive player. This makes a lot of sense to the Devils if it can make sense to O’Reilly.