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Avs still hope to re-sign Stastny, O'Reilly; McGinn gets 2-year deal |
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Rick Sadowski
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I don't know if the Avalanche will be able to re-sign Paul Stastny and/or Ryan O'Reilly, but Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy expressed hope Thursday during a news conference at the Pepsi Center that both players will be in Colorado uniforms for training camp in September -- provided they agree to deals that fit the team's salary structure.
(The Avalanche later announced that forward Jamie McGinn has been re-signed to a two-year contract. McGinn, 25, would have been a restricted free agent July 1. His deal is believed to be worth $2.9 million next season and $3 million in the second year. He had 19 goals and a career-best 38 points in 79 games last season, with two goals and three assists in seven playoff games.)
Sakic, the Avalanche's executive vice president of hockey operations, said he would resume negotiations next week with Stastny's agent, Matt Keator. Stastny, 28, is eligible for unrestricted free agency July 1, but other teams can start contacting him on Wednesday to see if there is interest under terms of the collective bargaining agreement.
Stastny has completed a five-year contract that paid him $6.6 million per season. He had 25 goals and 60 points in 71 games last season, with five goals and 10 points in seven playoff games. Stastny, who has spent his entire eight-season NHL career with the Avalanche after playing two years at the University of Denver, said several times during the season that he would prefer to re-sign with Colorado.
"We've had some conversations with his agent and we're going to continue that next week," Sakic said. "He's part of our core, we're hopeful we can sign him. We have a structure and I know he understands that. He's unrestricted, so he can start listening to offers (Wednesday). We're going to talk next week and if he chooses that path, he has a right to do that and see what's out there for him. We're definitely hopeful that we'll be able to keep Paul here."
It's gotten more complicated with O'Reilly, 23, a restricted free agent. He signed a two-year, $10 million offer sheet tendered by Calgary in February 2013 that the Avalanche matched. He made a pro-rated $3.5 million the first year and $6.5 million this past season.
After failing to reach a deal with agent Pat Morris, the Avalanche has filed for salary arbitration in O'Reilly's situation, though the team could still reach an agreement before the case goes to an arbitrator in July. Other teams could tender an offer sheet between July 1-5, which the Avalanche could match or accept draft picks as compensation.
"It was our right, part of the CBA window that we had, to file for an arbitration hearing," Sakic said. "I talked to Pat Morris a couple times and I told him if we didn't have an agreement, that was what we were planning on doing, so there's no secret there.
"We're still trying to sign Ryan. Ryan is part of our core, he's a tremendous hockey player that we want to have here. We're hopeful that we can accomplish that, but we have our structure and he falls right in with the rest of our core. Hopefully it will work out. If it doesn't, we know we'll have an arbitrator that will tell us what he'll make."
O'Reilly is coming off a career year in which he collected a team-high 28 goals, to go along with 64 points and an NHL-leading 83 takeaways. He had one minor penalty and is a finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy. O'Reilly had two goals and six points in seven playoff games.
O'Reilly can't be awarded less than 85 percent of his last base salary by an arbitrator, who would present him with offers of a one- and two-year deal. Whichever he accepts, if it comes to that, would be binding.
"I know his agent Pat Morris was on TV making some comments, wondering why," Sakic said of going to arbitration. "It all comes down to we have a different point of view of where the starting point is. His agent, Pat, seems to think he signed a one-year, $6.5 million deal and forgot about the $3.5 million first year. We just have a different point of view on where the starting point is. Our intention is for Ryan to be part of this group. He's very valuable to our team."
Sakic and Roy said they don't believe the decision to file for arbitration in O'Reilly's case has or will cause any ill will between the sides.
"From my point of view, not at all," Sakic said. "It's just a business decision. I know Ryan understands that. I know Ryan, Ryan loves the game of hockey, he loves being here. I believe he wants to stay here. When he goes on the ice, he's status quo. He will be out there early and do what he's going to do."
Said Roy: "It's not a concern to me as a coach. Ryan is a businessman. When he jumps on the ice, he's going to be a hockey player. We've been using him a lot. Ryan's performing well for us. Everybody knows I like him a lot. Ryan, at the end of the year, talked to me, he wants to learn how to win. It's the perfect fit for me. They day he's going to jump on the ice, I don't see it as an issue at all."
The Avalanche signed several key players -- Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog and Semyon Varlamov -- to new long-term deals in the past calendar year to fit into the team's structure. Duchene is the team's highest-paid player with an average salary of $6 million on a five-year contract that begins in 2014-15 and the Avalanche obviously doesn't believe Stastny or O'Reilly should be paid more.
"We believe Ryan and Paul should fit within that structure," Sakic said. "We don't believe anyone should be ahead of any of those guys. We believe that they're all equally important to us. We have a structure here and we believe in taking care of those core guys, and Ryan and Paul both fit in that core with our structure. We expect to do that going forward."
Roy said all NHL teams have had their own salary structures for years, including when he played with Montreal.
"Today it's the same thing," Roy said. "You establish who's where and where, and you go inside that structure. I think it's important that any team goes that way because you lose control, and when you lose control it's very difficult."
Roy said all of the Avalanche players recuperating from injuries and/or offseason surgeries are doing well and will be expected to be ready for training camp in September. That would include O'Reilly, whom Roy said was recovering from shoulder surgery.
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