Teams that often have a lot of talent that develop around them usually have a natural advantage because players want to return home. There are instances where they don’t want the distraction.

Thankfully for fans that don’t like the Leafs, O’Reilly didn’t sign there. Hes the exact type of presence you need to supplement the stars.

O’Rielly doesn’t change anything. He doesn’t affect the goaltending and doesn’t address the need of a top 4 right handed shot defender. The $4.5M was better spent elsewhere, especially for a guy that didn’t wanna play there in the first place

The 4.5M was spent on Kampf and Keeping Jarnkrok. Yes should have been used on a defencemen, but O’Reilly would have been great for the leafs

To soft mentally, couldn't handle the Toronto hockey atmosphere.

I feel like this is just being a bit mad at the guy for not wanting to play for us.

It's his life and if you hear him talk about it instead of just second hand stuff from the press the dude had valid reasons.

1. He's said a bunch of things that indicate he didn't like Keefe's decisions/coaching style.
2. He mentions that the 'pressure' he wanted to escape was that hundreds of people from when he was young harassed him non-stop for tickets. (Pretty sure you wouldn't want hundreds of random people you went to school with and haven't spoken to in a decade + nagging you do things.)
3. He wanted to be able to raise this kids in a place where they could go to school without being bothered.

Like non of this makes him a bad, soft or weak person. He's near a PPG in Nashville. He's a great dude who works hard.

I'd also point out he isn't alone in his complaints. Tavares moved out of Toronto at the end of the second year of his contract because he felt his kids were having the same issues.

Phaneuf's wife didn't even live with him in Toronto cause of the pressure she was under.

Actually most players with kids or recognizable wives tend to either live on the outskirts of the GTA or leave Toronto.