Daily Faceoff Live: Could the St. Louis Blues trade Ryan O’Reilly?

Matt Larkin and Mike McKenna discussed the St. Louis Blues’ slow start to the 2022–23 regular season on Friday’s edition of Daily Faceoff Live.

The two DFO analysts went over the changes the Blues made to their roster over the summer and suggested the team could shift into a “seller mode” if things continue to go downhill — with potential players on the block including captain Ryan O’Reilly.

Here’s an excerpt from their conversation about the Blues:

Matt Larkin: They’ve lost seven of 10, this team continues to run hot and cold. This, to me, is not news. If you watch the show, everybody, you’ve heard this from me, I’m a broken record, I picked the Blues as a bust. They got rid of their best power-play contributor, David Perron; they lose Ville Husso, who helped prop them up; they were a bad defensive team. I’m not surprised they are struggling. I’m gonna push the narrative forward for you now, Mike — what I want to know is, if this trend continues, if you’re Doug Armstrong, do you have to start adopting a seller’s mentality? You do have Ryan O’Reilly, who’s a pending UFA. How long before you start taking calls on Mr. O’Reilly?

Mike McKenna: Yeah, I think you’re looking at it, not just from a seller’s mentality but from a shakeup mentality. I think if you’re looking at O’Reilly, he’s been considered a real core piece for this team that the belief was, OK, they let Perron walk, they’ve gotta save some space because they have to sign Ryan O’Reilly. Well, he’s not having a very good year. He’s 31 years old, what kind of contract is he gonna look for next? Now, No. 1 centermen don’t grow on trees, but they have somebody in Robert Thomas who’s ready to assume that role as O’Reilly starts to move down.

Catch the full episode here: