Mike Reilly

Reilly had a heck of a season for a guy who didn't score a single goal. He began the year in Ottawa where he played well before an April trade to the Bruins where he played even better. All told, Reilly finished with 27 assists in 55 games. Boston thought enough of Reilly's play to hand the unrestricted free agent a new three-year, $9 million contract this past summer. It's a deal that has the potential to be a major value for the Bruins. Reilly is going to tally plenty of points at even strength for what should be a loaded Boston club, but ultimately his fantasy value will hinge on how much power-play time he receives. Consider him a late-round option at this point with the potential for more.

Reilly had a good season by his standards with 16 points in 44 contests split between the Canadiens and the Senators last year. Twelve of his points came in the 30 games he played after he was traded to Ottawa, where he received power-play usage, but there's no guarantee he'll reprise his man-advantage role in 2020-21. Reilly isn't known for a prolific scoring touch at the NHL level, and he doesn't add much else to his stat line, so there's little reason for fantasy managers to expect a breakout year at 27 years old. He'll probably land around 10 points with decent shot volume -- it'll take a hot streak to get him on the fantasy radar in most formats.

Reilly was poised to be a sneaky producer for Montreal entering last season. After being acquired at the trade deadline during the 2017-18 campaign, the Chicago native produced eight assists in 19 games for the Canadiens. With Shea Weber (knee) starting the 2018-19 season on injured reserve, there was an opportunity for Reilly to assert his offensive-minded game while logging 20-plus minutes of ice time per contest. However, the duo of Reilly and Noah Juulsen ended up being Montreal's weakest pairing. As a gifted puck mover, Reilly is at his best when on the attack, but his defense leaves a lot to be desired. Coach Claude Julien felt he was inconsistent, lacked good decision-making and turned the puck over far too often, so he eventually made the switch to Brett Kulak on the second pairing, with Reilly sitting 18 of the final 19 games of the campaign. The Habs did, however, sign Reilly to a two-year deal in June, so he'll presumably have a spot in the lineup in 2019-20. That said, he likely won't be a reliable source of offense from the blue line, and can safely be ignored in all fantasy formats.

Reilly heads into the 2018-19 season highly motivated after averaging more than 20 minutes per game in 19 contests with the Canadiens. Acquired from Minnesota, Reilly dished out eight assists, including two on the power play, and played a lot of top-pairing minutes. He looks like an adequate fit to pair with Shea Weber, but Weber will be out until December with a knee injury. It's less likely he lines up with Weber's fill-in, Jeff Petry, as it leaves the team lacking in its own zone. Reilly's brings offensive upside, and it should get him playing time on the second-unit power play, but he'll need to be paired with a responsible type during even-strength situations, likely Jordie Benn or Karl Alzner.

Reilly will compete for a final spot on the blue line. The 2011 fourth-rounder is coming off a 2016-17 season in which he logged one goal in 17 games with the Wild and 30 points over 57 contests for AHL Iowa. He has some upside on offense, but he'll need to improve on defense to carve out a steady role.

Originally drafted in 2011 by Columbus, Reilly opted to go play college hockey at the University of Minnesota and thus ended up a free agent prior to last season. He stayed local, signing a two-year deal with the Wild, but the Hobey Baker Award finalist experienced a painful adjustment to pro hockey – he went a team-worst minus-27 (albeit with 23 points) in 45 games for AHL Iowa and managed only seven points over 29 games at the NHL level. That can be written off as an adjustment year, but Reilly’s college stats will only carry him so far; he has to show dramatic improvement in 2016-17 to earn a bigger, better contract when he hits restricted free agency next offseason. He’ll likely get the chance to spend this whole season with the big club, but could still be restricted to third-pairing duty with some power-play time. That makes Reilly much more interesting in keeper or dynasty formats than yearly leagues.

The Hobey Baker Award finalist was heavily pursued by a number of teams, but ultimately decided to sign with the Wild and remain in the state in which he played all three years of his collegiate career. Reilly, a two-time All-American, was stellar during his time at the University of Minnesota, leading the team with 42 points in 39 games as a junior. He has an excellent chance of making the Wild's roster out of camp.

A late growth spurt put Reilly on the prospect map, and the University of Minnesota blueliner now finds himself mentioned as a preseason contender for the Hobey Baker Award, awarded to the top NCAA hockey player. He's still a long way from the NHL, but Reilly has the skills to someday be an effective two-way defenseman for Columbus.

Offensively-talented blue line prospect Reilly will hone his game at the college level for the next few years.