The Montreal Canadiens have been on the hunt to address their depth down the middle for some time now, especially a second-line centre to line up behind captain Nick Suzuki.

That need has hastened with the injuries piling up in Montreal with forwards Alex Newhook, Kirby Dach and Patrik Laine out long term. The team took a flyer on Alexandre Texier on a one-year deal for the remainder of the season after he was bought out by the St. Louis Blues.

On Tuesday’s edition of Insider Trading, TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun said the Canadiens are one of the teams interested in Nashville Predators centre Ryan O’Reilly.

Nashville sits last in the NHL with a 6-12-4 record and are coming off an 8-3 loss to the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Monday as Predators general manager Barry Trotz aired his frustration earlier this week.

“All eyes on his roster, and really that roster had begun a transition after last year’s disappointing season,” said LeBrun. “They’re a younger team this year, and that’s going to continue now as we get closer to the end of the season.

“Look for younger players to be integrated into that roster over time, which means, of course, listening on veteran players. We’ve talked before about the possibility of Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, those guys with full no-trade clauses, that teams will check in and the Predators are open to that.

“The name that has the most interest is Ryan O’Reilly, which isn’t surprising – there are teams that called on him last year as well. The Predators decided to keep him at the time. He’s got a year and a half left on his contract at $4.5 million, [which is] very appealing to teams looking for a centre who’s a Stanley Cup champion.

“The Montreal Canadiens are among the teams, I’m told, that have interest. What is the price tag for O’Reilly? I’m told, if and when the Predators are ready to go down that route, it’ll likely be a first-round pick and an A-level prospect to get into the conversation on O’Reilly.”

Trotz said this week that he has begun speaking to the agents of his players to gauge interest in a trade if things don’t improve.

“You hear this from a lot of teams: ‘We’re looking for a top-six [forward].’ You know, I have a couple of top sixes,” Trotz said. “I’ve talked to their agents. I just want to get a feel for [things]. If we get this turned around, it’ll be fine. If we don’t, then maybe they want to say, ‘Hey, I’m getting a little older, I want another crack at it. Can we do something?’”

O’Reilly, who captured the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2019 with the Blues, has six goals and 13 points in 22 games with Nashville this season. In 2024-25, he had 21 goals with 53 points as the Predators finished third last in the NHL.

The 34-year-old has skated in 1,174 career NHL games, scoring 309 goals with 837 points, split between the Colorado Avalanche, Buffalo Sabres, Blues, Toronto Maple Leafs and Predators.