Needless to say, O’Reilly was one of the hottest commodities on the NHL free-agency market in 2023. Any team would be lucky to have him; but when General Manager Barry Trotz and the Preds came calling, O’Reilly’s decision to sign a four-year, $18 million contract with Nashville was an easy one.
“It’s a very good team,” O’Reilly said. “I was playing against them for years. I was very impressed with them last year, almost making the playoffs with the injuries that they had. And my brother, obviously, had played in the organization and absolutely loved it.”
Indeed, O'Reilly's connection to Nashville goes deeper than merely playing here as a member of opposing teams. His brother, Cal, was drafted by Nashville in the fifth round (150th overall) of the 2005 NHL Draft and appeared in 85 career games for the Predators from 2008-12. Two days after Ryan signed with the Preds, Cal signed a one-year deal to return to their AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals.
“It’s so cool,” O’Reilly said. “I think for him to be older as we're coming back to the place where he started his career, being in the same organization with him is something that is so cool; especially at this time of our careers, at the end to be able to kind of play together or just be in the same organization, see each other, go to training camp together – it's cool. Not a lot of brothers get the chance to play professionally together, much less in the same organization."
Family is certainly at the center of everything for O'Reilly, as he and his wife, Dayna, have relocated to Nashville with their three children, Jameson (5), Declan (3) and Willa Rose (1). With Jameson starting kindergarten this year, O’Reilly was able to rely on his new teammates to help find schools in Nashville – much like Ryan McDonagh, who had a 5-year-old daughter starting kindergarten when he was traded to Nashville last summer.
“We were in four different houses within a year, which is a lot on kids,” said O'Reilly, who was traded from St. Louis to Toronto ahead of last season's trade deadline. “But to be here and get settled in this community, especially when so many of the guys have kids too, makes it so much easier.”
The elder O’Reilly children have already begun to show an interest in their dad’s career, with Jameson learning to play hockey and Declan enjoying coming to games.
“It's kind of fun to get them into it and teach them,” O’Reilly said. “Hopefully, they can grow up in the game like I did. I don't want to pressure them into it, but I know what the game has done for myself and how fun it's been and the relationships that I have from it, and I hope that they'll be able to experience it as well.”
Off the ice, the Music City seems to be a natural fit for O’Reilly, who both plays and collects guitars; at last count, he says, he owns at least eight.
“I like all sorts of folk music, but I bounce around everything,” O’Reilly said. “Typically, I can play more of that kind of folk-y stuff – Lumineers, Pearl Jam, that kind of stuff. I know a few country songs… With kids, though, it's tough. Usually when I do play guitar, they want to hear something silly that they can kind of dance around to. So I’m not really playing as much as I’d like to.”
O’Reilly admits he’s not much of a vocalist, though, but says that he can “get by.”
“I do [sing] a little bit – not well,” he said, “I don’t think I’m going to be cutting any records anytime soon.”
It’s just as well, though; at age 32, O’Reilly is entering his 15th NHL season and showing no signs of slowing down, even as the game gets faster and more competitive.
