NHL Rumors: Insider floats $18M Predators star as NJ Devils' next target after missing out on Quinn Hughes

After starting the season with an 8-1-0 record the New Jersey Devils lost their way a bit. Looking to improve their team, they were considered the favorites to complete a deal with the Vancouver Canucks for their captain, Quinn Hughes.

But in the end, no trade protection clauses attached to several contracts made it impossible to clear the cap space to take on Hughes' $7.85 million annual average value, who eventually joined the Minnesota Wild.

According to NHL insider Arthur Staple, this shouldn't stop the Devils from the opportunity to get better. On the Daily Faceoff podcast on Saturday, Staple linked the Devils to Nashville Predators' Ryan O'Reilly. He felt that trading for the veteran center could bring a dynamic shift in the New Jersey clubhouse.

"If it's Ryan O'Reilly, that guy's going to change that locker room. This guy's been a champion. This guy's been around. This is still a very youthful, inexperienced group at its core; there are guys that have been there for nine or 10 years, and Nico Hischier and Jesper Brat, but as you pointed out, they haven't been in the s**t. "A move that they make will still be seismic, because it's not something that's happened with this team before. Now, you know you're not getting Quinn Hughes okay, that waiting part's over, but maybe they make some other move. You shake it up a little bit, and you start to get healthy. And all of a sudden, look at that, you're back feeling good about yourself."

O'Reilly was linked to the Devils by insider Elliotte Friedman on the Dec. 8 edition of the 32 Thoughts podcast. There have been consistent rumors since then as the Devils are predicted to bring in the 34-year-old for his veteran presence as a middle-six forward.

Signed to a four-year, $18 million contract by the Predators, O'Reilly has scored 150 points in 193 games for the team. His two-way play, especially during the shutout minutes, is well-suited to Nashville's game. But this season his shooting stats have gone up slightly with a 3.3% rise in shooting percentage.

Ryan O'Reilly linked to Colorado Avalanche

The Hockey News writer Lyle Richardson on Dec. 11 linked the NHL-best and Ryan O'Reilly's former team, the Colorado Avalanche, as a possible suitor for the Predators forward.

"It is no secret that head coach Jared Bednar would like another center. One name that continues to surface is Nashville Predators veteran Ryan O’Reilly," he wrote.

According to Richardson, the Avalanche could move Ross Colton to the wings and bring in O'Reilly in former 3C Jack Drury's place, who has been operating on the fourth line.

The Avalanche had drafted O'Reilly back in 2009. He played for six seasons with the club, scoring 246 goals in 427 games.

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Edited by R. Nikhil Parshy