Ryan O’Reilly emerges as favourite to be NHL’s last visor-less skater

Ryan Reaves’ retirement announcement on September 16 removed one of the NHL’s most recognizable tough customers and one of its last visor-less skaters. With Reaves now out of the league, only three players still take the ice without a visor: Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn, Minnesota Wild defenceman Zach Bogosian and Nashville Predators centre Ryan O’Reilly. All three enter 2026-27 on expiring contracts, but O’Reilly stands out as the most likely to extend that visor-less era the longest.

A grandfathered rule that dates back to 2013-14

The league’s mandatory visor rule came into effect in 2013-14, applying to every skater who had not yet reached 25 NHL games. Players already past that threshold were grandfathered and allowed to keep playing without a shield. In theory, 62 active players still qualify to remove their visors if they chose, including future Hall of Famers Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby and veterans such as Mika Zibanejad and J.T. Miller.

In practice, that group has steadily shrunk as players either entered the league with visors or added them later in their careers. Benn, Bogosian and O’Reilly now form a tiny holdout group, and there is little indication that any of the other grandfathered veterans plan to join them.

Bogosian and Benn appear closer to the finish line

Zach Bogosian’s profile suggests he may not be around as long as the others. Over the past seven seasons, he has reached the 50-game mark only twice. After logging 65 games with a healthy workload in 2023-24 and 81 games in 2024-25, his 2025-26 usage dropped to just over 14 and a half minutes per night across 41 games. His physical metrics, such as hits and shot blocks, have slipped below his career norms, and his penalty-kill minutes declined last season.

Minnesota’s blue line mix is shifting as well. Olli Maatta is expected to absorb a bigger share of the penalty-kill work after arriving in the trade that sent Jake Middleton out of town, and right-shot prospect David Spacek is developing in the AHL with a chance to push for NHL duty soon. At 36, Bogosian could still extend his career as depth, but his future with the Wild – or in the league at all – looks less secure than that of his visor-less peers.

Benn, now 37, actually averaged less ice time than Bogosian last season, yet remains central to Dallas’ identity. He is entering his 14th year as Stars captain and still finished seventh among their forwards in scoring with 36 points in 60 games last season. Concerns linger after he went pointless with a minus-7 rating in a six-game first-round loss to the Wild, and top prospect Emil Hemming could eventually affect the lineup picture. Still, Benn’s durability over 17 NHL seasons and the presence of other pending UFA wingers like Joel Kiviranta and Colin Blackwell suggest there is a realistic path to at least one more deal in Dallas.

O’Reilly’s production puts him in his own tier

Ryan O’Reilly, however, has the clearest case to outlast the others. He is the youngest of the three at 35 and is coming off a standout campaign with 74 points in 81 games for Nashville. Among 57 forwards born in 1991 or earlier cited in the analysis, only Artemi Panarin produced more, with 84 points. That level of offence, combined with O’Reilly’s established two-way reputation, separates him from Benn and Bogosian.

The Predators do have a wave of young centres on the way, including Matthew Wood, Mavrik Bourque and prospect Brady Martin, who could cement himself in the NHL as soon as this year. Even so, O’Reilly is projected to remain a lineup driver for at least this season and the next two, whether that is in Nashville or elsewhere if he is traded at the deadline or leaves in free agency.

While Bogosian appears headed toward a depth role and Benn’s future hinges on sustaining enough impact to justify another contract, O’Reilly shows no signs of decline. Unless injuries or an unexpected early retirement intervene, he is the clear favourite to go down as the last skater in the NHL to play without a visor.