The center, who joined the NHL @TheRink podcast Monday, won the Cup and was voted the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as most valuable player in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with the St. Louis Blues last season. St. Louis (42-19-10) is in first place in the Central Division this season, two points ahead of the Colorado Avalanche.
The NHL season was paused on March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. There is no timetable for when, or if, the season might resume.
"I know you can do it in a different way, but if it was up to me, from my time being in the League and other guys I've talked to on the team, we really need to protect the integrity of the Stanley Cup," O'Reilly said. "It's a whole other season in its own so I think it's got to be a full, best-of-7 for four rounds, for sure. It'll be interesting to see how they make that work, how you can condense it to still give the teams fighting for a wild card a chance, but I think you have to have the full thing. It'll be tough and obviously I don't have all the answers, but I feel it really protects the integrity of the Stanley Cup. It is extremely difficult. Having to beat a team four times is not an easy thing to do, and I just feel we need to have that."
O'Reilly has stayed in St. Louis during the pause with his wife, Dayna, who is pregnant and due with their second child May 15. He said he's been staying in shape by utilizing his backyard and that a one-week training camp could be enough time for players to get their bodies back to being hockey ready.
"There's no easy way, but at least a good week of skating, having contact, getting the hips back in line and ready," O'Reilly said. "It would be tough, but I think a week or so would be the minimum.
"But either way, it's going to be unique for everyone. It's good that everyone is going to be going through the exact same thing."
The good thing about the pause is it has given O'Reilly more time at home to help his wife and hang out with their 3-year-old son, Jameson. O'Reilly, a guitar player, singer and songwriter, said he's been writing tunes to keep Jameson busy.
"I miss playing the more deeper, singer-songwriter folky stuff that I usually like to play and mess around with, but with my little guy, I have to keep him entertained so he stays busy," O'Reilly said. "So I'm creating songs like 'Pizza Party' and 'Wash Your Hands,' and all these fun things that I'm messing around with. It's definitely keeping me busy."
But O'Reilly dearly misses game days.
"Game days are the best," he said. "You wake up, you come in, you have a nice meal at the rink, you have a little skate, a couple meetings, you go eat again and then you nap. You wake up, you're back to the rink. It's just the ultimate, ultimate day. You get paid to eat, nap and then play hockey at night."
To try and keep his competitive level up, O'Reilly said he has been playing video games online against and with teammates. But his mind still wanders to what awaits him if the NHL is able to return this season.
"Just that excitement of going together with the guys and playing the games, you can't beat that, especially at this time of year when you're playing that meaningful hockey with playoffs right around the corner," O'Reilly said. "It's a fun time and it's definitely nice to take a break from everything that's going on now to think about when it does come back, or hopefully does come back, it's going to be some exciting hockey."
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