The guy deserves his own thread.

Was scrolling through game logs this morning—the longest ROR has gone without scoring a point this season is 3 games. Talk about consistency. Even more impressive when you consider how often his linemates were changing early on.

He’s also +23 on a team that was terrible much of the season.

How did Army get this guy for a first and some spare parts?

Can you imagine this season without ROR?
Wheres those people who were sayin ROR was barely an improvement over Stastny?
ROR is worth 3 or 4 Stastny's.

HighStick wrote: Wed Feb 13, 2019 6:50 am Can you imagine this season without ROR?
Wheres those people who were sayin ROR was barely an improvement over Stastny?
ROR is worth 3 or 4 Stastny's.

boomer was one of the nay-sayers. said he didn't think the changes made were a major improvement.

If Berube has someone that he needs to get going - just pair him up with ROR, job done! He makes everybody on his line look great. His passes are on the tape, at the right moment, he works his tail off, at both ends of the ice. He's just an incredible player.

UMSLBlues12 wrote: Wed Feb 13, 2019 6:18 am The guy deserves his own thread.

Was scrolling through game logs this morning—the longest ROR has gone without scoring a point this season is 3 games. Talk about consistency. Even more impressive when you consider how often his linemates were changing early on.

He’s also +23 on a team that was terrible much of the season.

How did Army get this guy for a first and some spare parts?

Maybe more amazing is why no other teams stepped up in the bidding. On paper, Blues gave a lot. The fact that Bergs & Sobie weren’t really worth anything is another

He really should be a finalist for the Hart. If they look at what a player truly means to his team, it's a no brainer. Of course....I don't expect him to get a nod over Gaudreau, Kuch, McDavid or Kane

If you want some good reading. Sabres fans on HF boards are so triggered from their team's fall this season + the ROR deal that the mods had to create an ENTIRE THREAD devoted to all ROR debates and topics so talk about ROR doesn't spill over into every other thread in their forum.

https://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/ ... p.2579985/

While I loved the fit on the ice, I was a little concerned about ROR off the ice given his "lost the love of the game" comments and the Tim Horton's incident from a few years back. Those concerns were quite obviously misplaced as it would seem his impact off the ice has been extraordinary as well. His work ethic can only help the youngsters in the organization, and hell, the veterans too. The trade may end up going down as Armstrong's best depending on how the draft pick fares and if Thompson ever develops. Right now its an absolute robbery.

Dave's a mess wrote: Wed Feb 13, 2019 9:36 am While I loved the fit on the ice, I was a little concerned about ROR off the ice given his "lost the love of the game" comments and the Tim Horton's incident from a few years back. Those concerns were quite obviously misplaced as it would seem his impact off the ice has been extraordinary as well. His work ethic can only help the youngsters in the organization, and hell, the veterans too. The trade may end up going down as Armstrong's best depending on how the draft pick fares and if Thompson ever develops. Right now its an absolute robbery.

You mean better than the Miller acquisition, no way, that was epic
Lol. He was the only goalkeeper in the past decade that makes Allen look good.
.

Strange how trades pan out over time (remember all the love Chris Stewart got in his first season in St. Louis?) but in the short term, this one looks great. He's been the Blues' best player, hands down, this season, and I hope he's the same player for St. Louis for years to come.

One interesting byproduct of adding O'Reilly that has materialized during this recent run is that his presence has allowed Berube to move Schenn to wing, where he seems to be thriving. Great players have that effect where things fall into place around them, and you get the best out of other players on the team.

Also, I don't recall another time when a Blues player's face-off skills have been this impactful on team success.

I expected ROR to be a younger Stastny, with MAYBE a little more scoring (Great at faceoffs, 2-way play, special teams, 60-70 points). He's certainly exceeded those expectations so far!

insideout wrote: Wed Feb 13, 2019 10:36 am Strange how trades pan out over time (remember all the love Chris Stewart got in his first season in St. Louis?) but in the short term, this one looks great. He's been the Blues' best player, hands down, this season, and I hope he's the same player for St. Louis for years to come.

The year before Colorado traded Stewart to us, he put up 28 goals and 64 points in 77 games. The season of the trade, between Colorado and Saint Louis combined he put up 28 goals and 53 points in 62 games. Those were his second and third seasons in the NHL, After an 'off-season' the following year (15 goals, 30 points in 79 games), he put up 18 goals and 36 points in 48 games in the lockout-shortened season. We really thought we had a young, bona-fide 30 goal, 60+ point power forward in Stewart.

Unfortunately, those were, by far, his best seasons of hockey, and he never got close to those numbers again. I think the coaching staff, and Armstrong, saw even in those "good" years how sporadic his scoring streaks were, how erratic his effort was (in practice and off-ice, too), how he'd use his natural physical abilities to capitalize on weaker teams (And the Blues were one of the best teams in the NHL back then), but he could easily become a non-factor in important games, or against tougher teams, and how his play away from the puck was practically non-existent. His good numbers were more a factor of the team's success, not the other way around.

I think it's just the opposite for ROR. He's been FREAKISHLY consistent, has been an impact player even when he's not scoring, has seemed to be positive, but also even-keeled (No highs and lows, or 'stunts' to pump up emotions), and, by all reports, is VERY hard working and focused, in games, practices, on-ice and off-ice, and is dedicated to improving his game (even now) in all situations, and being as 'complete' a player as possible. The team is better because of ROR, not vice-versa.

There is no comparison between Stewart and ROR. O'Reilly takes 90% of the Blues face offs and is an incredible play maker. Stewart was a good winger and had potential to keep being that, but his mental issues prevented it from ever happening.

I'll never forget... When Stewart came here in the trade, one of the better Avs players (?) Said that he believed Stewart would be a Captain for a nhl team someday. Lol...

barnburner wrote: Wed Feb 13, 2019 1:06 pm I'll never forget... When Stewart came here in the trade, one of the better Avs players (?) Said that he believed Stewart would be a Captain for a nhl team someday. Lol...

Pretty sure that was his buddy Stastny. Those two were tight. I remember the old man Peter Stastny went off on the Avs when they traded his boy's wingman.

ROR is so fun to watch play. He is one of the smartest players I've ever seen. What a great trade.

To clarify, I'm not suggesting much of a correlation between O'Reilly and Stewart. I just used Stewart to exemplify how trades can look awesome in the short term and not as great a few years down the line.

ratonmono wrote: Wed Feb 13, 2019 2:10 pm

barnburner wrote: Wed Feb 13, 2019 1:06 pm I'll never forget... When Stewart came here in the trade, one of the better Avs players (?) Said that he believed Stewart would be a Captain for a nhl team someday. Lol...

Pretty sure that was his buddy Stastny. Those two were tight. I remember the old man Peter Stastny went off on the Avs when they traded his boy's wingman.

No, it wasn't Stastny, not that it makes any difference I guess. Whoever it was, was a well respected player, so that comment really caught my attention. Of course, at the time, after having watched Stewie kill us, time after time, I was estatic too have him wearing the note. I expected a 30 goal scorer who would pound the opposition.

I think O'Reilly would be successful in any era. He's the whole package and a pleasure to watch. He combines talent, intelligence, and effort and he makes everyone that plays with him better.

From the Avalanche FTP:
"O'Reilly can be battling with three Avs and still come out with the puck"

Something I also realized in the first few games I saw him play.

O'Reilly banked $7.5 mil from Stillman on July 1st and has went out and earned every freaking penny since then. Even when this team was complete shit, ROR was playing his ass of every game, battling and producing. It's really been something to witness night in and night out. There ain't a guy in this league that's going to out work him.

NHLTIM wrote: Mon Feb 18, 2019 2:13 pm O'Reilly banked $7.5 mil from Stillman on July 1st and has went out and earned every freaking penny since then. Even when this team was complete shit, ROR was playing his ass of every game, battling and producing. It's really been something to witness night in and night out. There ain't a guy in this league that's going to out work him.

His attitude, work ethic, are impressive. If he amps it up in the playoffs, that’ll be something to watch.

Bump

We would argue 90 should be in the Hart Trophy discussion. While I don't think he could win it, I think he could def win the Selke. Guy looks like Datsyuk 2009.

Praise be to ROR