Ryan O'Reilly is a hockey player through and through. An outstanding center, good in all facets of the game and an undisputed leader. What's more, he signed with Nashville for just 4.5 million a year, which is very acceptable. During Saturday's opening of the free-agent market, his name was strongly linked to the Canadiens, and it was unclear where this rumour was coming from. We learned from Jeff Marek and Habs Fan TV that it was the players who asked Kent Hughes to acquire him. <q>According to Jeff Marek, Tricolore players tried to convince general manager Kent Hughes to sign Ryan O'Reilly, but the Tricolore couldn't find a way to do it under the salary cap. Would O'Reilly have been a good addition to the team?</q> In other words, the forward was highly coveted in the Habs' dressing room and there was no doubting his popularity. Sure, the Habs are well-endowed at center, but O'Reilly would have been quite an addition to the club's future. Unfortunately for Hughes, it must have been the four-year term that posed a problem for his budget. <blockquote class=twitter-tweet><p lang=en dir=ltr>According to <a href=https://twitter.com/JeffMarek?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>@JeffMarek</a>, Habs players tried to convince GM Kent Hughes to sign UFA Ryan O'Reilly, but the Habs could not find a way to make it happen under the salary cap. Would O'Reilly have been a good addition to the team? <a href=https://t.co/wkhv1e18J5>pic.twitter.com/wkhv1e18J5</a>- Habs Fan TV (@habsfantv_) <a href=https://twitter.com/habsfantv_/status/1676012600767782915?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>July 3, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src=https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js charset=utf-8>