Toronto Maple Leafs Player Grades #1. Ryan O’Reilly
Stats with the Leafs:
Regular Season:
Games Played: 13
Goals: 4
Assists: 7
Playoffs:
Games Played: 11
Goals: 3
Assists: 6
xGF: 44.06%
Contract Status:
Pending UFA (capfriendly.com).
Overall Thoughts:
Ryan O’Reilly was brought in to be a difference-maker for the Leafs to close out their season and ultimately in the playoffs as well.
He got off to a hot start with the Leafs, scoring a hat trick in just his second game with the club but the rest of his season wasn’t as good unfortunately.
I’m sure breaking a bone in his hand and having to spend time out of the lineup didn’t help either, but O’Reilly isn’t at the same level he was when he led the Blues to a Stanley Cup.
O’Reilly was mainly used on the third line and had different linemates almost every game it seemed.
O’Reilly had stretches of solid hockey with the Leafs, but ultimately his best hockey was played when paired with Tavares and Marner, a look we didn’t see much in the playoffs.
O’Reilly still had 9 points in 11 playoff games (with three of those points coming in one game, however) and scored a clutch goal to force overtime in the first round, but ultimately seemed pretty quiet in the second round.
Normally when a player doesn’t fully do what they were brought in to do, they would receive a grade lower than a C+, especially with a negative xG%, but due to his clutch goal and still pretty solid point totals while being misused, he has landed as a C+.
O’Reillly is still a good hockey player but should be used in a proper role with consistent linemates. I don’t expect that he will be back next year, but if he is, he needs to be paired with a skilled forward, whether that be Marner, Knies or maybe even Robertson.