• HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • Site Index
  • NHL Salary Caps
  • Hockey 101: A Beginner’s Guide
  • Join Our Team
  • Free Newsletter
  • Store
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
Home
St Louis Blues

Sabres Trade O’Reilly to Blues

By Brandon Share-Cohen July 1st, 2018

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

The Buffalo Sabres have traded Ryan O’Reilly to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for a 2019 first-round pick, a 2021 second-round pick, 2016 first-round pick Tage Thompson and veteran forwards Vladimir Sobotka and Patrik Berglund.

BUF gets 1st in 19, 2nd in 21, Tage Thompson, Vladimir Sobotka,Patrick Betglund for Ryan O’Reilly. No salary retained. STL pays ROR signing bonus.

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) July 2, 2018

It’s hard to get big-time centers in the NHL who can play a solid 200-foot game while still contributing in an offensive way. O’Reilly checks off all the boxes as a center as he is an elite faceoff man, an excellent 200-foot forward and he has scored upwards of 55 points in six consecutive seasons, not including the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season when he still scored an impressive six goals and 20 points in 29 games.

O’Reilly has recorded upwards of 30 assists in each of those six seasons and has scored over 20 goals in four of them, including 28 in 2013-14 while he was still a member of the Colorado Avalanche. He’s eclipsed the 60-point mark three times in his career, two of those instances coming as a member of the Sabres with his most recent season of 24 goals and 61 points in 81 games being his best season with the team to date from a statistical standpoint, though his per-game totals were better in 2015-16.

Ryan O'Reilly Blues

Buffalo Sabres have traded center Ryan O’Reilly to the St. Louis Blues (Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports)

In his career, the 27-year-old has scored 155 goals and 422 points in 651 games and has consistently done his part on the ice. Things soured between O’Reilly and the Sabres last season, however, as O’Reilly became increasingly tired of losing – something the Sabres have done a lot of in recent seasons. With a significant contract that carries a cap hit of $7.5 million for the next five seasons without any form of no-trade or no-movement clause in his deal, the blues will be taking on a pretty significant contract – the catch is that they also cleared significant cap space in the process and may be better off as a result

Sabres Getting Experience and Coveted Assets

The soon to be 31-year-old Sobotka is signed for another two seasons at $3.5 million per season while the 30-year-old Berglund has another four seasons remaining on his contract that carries a $3.85 million annual cap hit. The return is satisfactory for the Sabres and given the pressure to get the deal done prior to midnight to avoid paying O’Reilly a $7.5 million signing bonus, the ability to get such adequate return by general manager Jason Botterill should be acknowledged.

In 57 games last season, Berglund scored 17 goals and 26 points. He has scored a total of 168 goals and 322 points in 694 games and brings postseason experience to the Sabres as well having played in the playoffs in seven of the last 10 seasons. Sobotka spent three seasons away from the NHL but has been a solid depth contributor since returning to the Blues. He also brings veteran experience to the Sabres in this deal though he and Berglund were likely included more as cap casualties than anything.

Tage Thompson St. Louis Blues

Tage Thompson has been traded from the St. Louis Blues to the Buffalo Sabres, January 6, 2018 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

For the Sabres, the real values comes from the draft picks as well as Thompson. With only three goals and nine points in 41 NHL games in his rookie season as well as eight goals and 18 points in 30 AHL games in 2017-18, Thompson didn’t have the best debut in the world. With that said, he’s a 6-foot-5 center who knows how to score and produce points and has top-six potential at the NHL level.

 

  • Tags
  • Patrik Berglund
  • Ryan O'Reilly
  • Tage Thompson
  • Top Story
  • Vladimir Sobotka
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Get theScore App Now!
Recent Posts
Jan 16th 6:10 PM
Hockey History

25 Best Senators’ Memories From 25 Years at Canadian Tire Centre

Jan 16th 6:00 PM
Anaheim Ducks

Ducks Prospects: Colangelo, Andersson, Drew & More

Jan 16th 5:50 PM
Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks Need Taxi Squad to Drive Better Results in Net

Jan 16th 5:40 PM
Women's Hockey

Toronto Six 2021 Season Preview

Jan 16th 5:30 PM
Winnipeg Jets

Jets Have a lot of Options to Deal With Laine

Jan 16th 5:20 PM
Dallas Stars

Stars’ COVID-19 Cases Could Cost Them

Jan 16th 4:25 PM
Column

Maple Leafs News & Rumors: Campbell, Andersen, Tavares & Robertson

Jan 16th 4:15 PM
Tampa Bay Lightning

Lightning Look to Benefit From Week Off

Jan 16th 3:05 PM
Montreal Canadiens

Josh Anderson’s Canadiens Debut Should Make Marc Bergevin Proud

Jan 16th 2:55 PM
Other Leagues

OHL Would Benefit From 24-Game Season

Editor’s Picks
World Junior Championship All-Time Leading Scorers

World Junior Championship All-Time Leading Scorers

2021 Guide To the World Junior Championship

2021 Guide To the World Junior Championship

Masthead

Newsletters

RSS Feeds

Privacy Statement

Contact Us

About THW…

Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Updated daily with news and features from over 130 writers worldwide. Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix.

© The Hockey Writers 2020. All rights reserved.
logo
  • HOME
  • Hockey Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • North Division
    • Calgary Flames
    • Edmonton Oilers
    • Montreal Canadiens
    • Ottawa Senators
    • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Vancouver Canucks
    • Winnipeg Jets
  • East Division
    • Boston Bruins
    • Buffalo Sabres
    • New Jersey Devils
    • New York Islanders
    • New York Rangers
    • Philadelphia Flyers
    • Pittsburgh Penguins
    • Washington Capitals
  • Central Division
    • Carolina Hurricanes
    • Chicago Blackhawks
    • Columbus Blue Jackets
    • Dallas Stars
    • Detroit Red Wings
    • Florida Panthers
    • Nashville Predators
    • Tampa Bay Lightning
  • West Division
    • Anaheim Ducks
    • Arizona Coyotes
    • Colorado Avalanche
    • Los Angeles Kings
    • Minnesota Wild
    • San Jose Sharks
    • Seattle Kraken
    • St Louis Blues
    • Vegas Golden Knights
  • World Juniors
  • CHL
    • Ontario Hockey League
    • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
    • Western Hockey League
  • THW Podcast Network
  • Store
  • FREE Newsletter
  • Search THW
  • More…
    • Join Our Team
    • The THW Archives
    • Prospects
    • The Goalie Page
    • NHL Salary Cap Information