The Latest in the O’Reilly saga in Colorado
O’Reilly could sign a one-year deal with Colorado, then take the team to arbitration over the summer and hope to score a big contract of the kind he wants now. If the arbitrator sides with the player, the Avs would either have to pay it or they could “walk away” from the deal, which would make O’Reilly an unrestricted free agent and lose him for nothing. And that is something they obviously wouldn’t want.
Of course, the Avs almost certainly wouldn’t offer O’Reilly a one-year deal because of this arbitration option. But that eliminates what could have been a short-term fix, to just get him on the team and start playing and worry about a bigger deal later.
Most people around O’Reilly expect the Avs to trade him now. I’ll tell you this: when/if O’Reilly plays for another team, expect a good healthy rivalry between him and Matt Duchene every time they play. Plenty of people around O’Reilly are blaming Duchene for taking “short money” on a two-year deal, which effectively set the bar for O’Reilly, one the Avs won’t go over.
HTR – This is rediculous. The Avs need him in their lineup. The fans to deserve to see him play. Either trade him to get a return or sign him to a agreeable contract. It is just not right to the fans who had to miss the first half of the season to have to pay top dollar to see the Avs play to nor have him or his trade return in the lineup,