ST. LOUIS – It’s an abnormally quiet first day of NHL free agency for the St. Louis Blues in terms of big-ticket moves, but one of their top players in recent history will join a division rival for the foreseeable future.

Ryan O’Reilly, the most recent captain in Blues history, has agreed to a four-year, $18 million contract with the Nashville Predators. Although Nashville hasn’t yet announced the signing, The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford and other NHL beat writers report the deal is getting finalized.

O’Reilly spent five seasons with the Blues from 2018-2023. His last three came as the 23rd captain in franchise history. His first season in St. Louis sparked an improbable ride to a Stanley Cup championship. That year, he scored 22 points over 26 playoff games, boosted by a four-game goal streak in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.

O’Reilly’s first Blues campaign was also accolade-filled, as he earned the 2019 Conn Smythe Award as the best playoff performer, the Selke Award as the NHL’s best defensive forward and his first of two All-Star nods with the Blues. The 32-year-old tallied 269 points (97 goals, 172 assists) and a 56.8% faceoff clip over 327 regular-season games.

Blues goalie Glenn Hall won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1968.

O’Reilly and veteran forward Noel Acciari were traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in February and helped them advance past the first round of playoffs for the first time since 2004. O’Reilly had four goals and seven assists over 13 regular season games and posted nine points in 11 playoff games with Toronto.

With O’Reilly set to join Nashville, it ends hope of a possible Blues reunion after moving him as a rental piece, such as what Doug Weight and Keith Tkachuk have done in the past. The Blues currently have around $2.3 million in cap space to spare for any additional free agents and trade pickups. The team added another forward last week by trading for Philadelphia’s Kevin Hayes.

Meanwhile, Blues general manager Doug Armstrong is getting a close look at their prospects, including this year’s No. 10 overall pick Dalibor Dvorsky, at a weekend prospect camp at Centene Community Ice Center. St. Louis also announced a reunion with former 2019 Stanley Cup champion Mackenzie MacEachern.