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The Avs don’t want to trade O’Reilly and insist that they won’t. But I’ve seen too many players get shipped out of town after they butted heads with management over money. I have to believe the Avs will trade O’Reilly if the stalemate drags on.

Question is: Do you trade him in this lockout-shortened season or let him sit out the season and take your time making a deal during the summer? That’s a tough call. The Avs no doubt could get something good for O’Reilly this season and use it

to their advantage in a playoff push. But what are you really going to get in terms of proven players at this time of the year?

But do you really want to let O’Reilly sit and get absolutely no value from him the entire season? How’s that going to go over with lockout-burned fans being asked to pay good money on tickets to see a team that claims it wants to put the best product it can on the ice?

The best solution? Find a way to get something done and keep O’Reilly here. I’ve talked to enough players, coaches and scouts in the NHL in the past year to know O’Reilly is highly regarded. The prevailing sentiment I get is: “Why would they ever want to let that kid go?”