O’Reilly has never been considered a burner, but his pace has noticeably slowed this season. If your game hinges on your ability to play hard, force turnovers and get to the net – and you have a hard time getting in quickly enough to force turnovers – that can be problematic. There are few ways to properly quantify the drop-off in skating and speed. But given how hard he plays and with such compete, O’Reilly has always been a player who draws far more penalties than he takes. Last season, O’Reilly drew 25 penalties and only took six minor penalties. This season, he has drawn five and been whistled for five. That relates directly back to him not getting where he needs to go on-time as he has in the past.

Also typically a stout defender in the middle of the ice, O’Reilly has struggled in the defensive zone as well. Is it the lack of pace catching up with him? Perhaps. Is it his linemates? Maybe. He’s spent the majority of his ice time playing with Josh Leivo and Brandon Saad. Neither player is known for their ability to lock down opponents or push the pace. He really seems to miss David Perron.

Is it just that Father Time remains undefeated? That’s what it looks like. He’s played a lot of hard minutes. The all-out style that has made O’Reilly so successful tends to wear players down. With how hard he works, and all of those reps, players like O’Reilly traditionally have a hard time in their 30s. See: Jonathan Toews. When their legs go, the decline can be rapid. Maybe that is what we’re seeing with O’Reilly.

Then again, it’s possible that the situation in St. Louis has contributed to his season. We’ve discussed many times during the Deadline Countdown series the mental side of athletic performance, and the pressure of a contract year and trying to put a struggling Blues team on his shoulders could be wearing on him.

Either way, any acquiring team needs to understand that at this stage of his career, O’Reilly is probably best suited to play with wingers who can skate and transport the puck to clear space for him. That way, he can use his intelligence to find soft spots in the offensive zone and in the defensive zone, he can remain in the play longer knowing that his wingers will be moving up the ice.