What do you call a 24-year-old scored power center who can shut down the other team's top pivot, win faceoffs, control the puck for long stretches of time in the o-zone, back check like a pit bull, kill penalties, play PP, dominate 5 on 5, pass like he has eyes on the back of his head, and light the lamp 30+ per season.
You call that guy Ryan O'Reilly, of course. O'Reilly (6'0" and 210 lbs.) is truly a freak of nature. Nobody trains harder in the off season than he does.
The Colorado Avalanche are inching closer to having to make a serious decision regarding the future of O’Reilly in the Rockies.
Elliotte Friedman reports that Patrick Roy and Joe Sakic are right now testing for echo on ROR. We are 12 days away from the McEichel Draft and the Avs have to re-build their back end in a big way. A mediocre D corps in 2014-15, the Avs' blue line will be subtracting two defenders in the days to come in veteran Jan Hejda and prospect Stefan Elliott.
If Roy and Sakic green light a trade for O'Reilly, it will have to include blue line experience to be included in the package.
The Avs have invested heavily in their forward ranks, however, to start adding difference makers to their the D corps.
The Buffalo Sabres have been linked to O'Reilly trade chatter since Tim Murray took over as their GM in January 2014. Murray is looking to add players to his sterling silver core of prospects who play hard, fast, and skilled. O'Reilly checks all of those boxes. As do Jack Eichel, Samson Reinhart, Evander Kane, Zach Bogosian, Zemgus Girgensons, Rasmus Ristolainen, Nikita Zadorov, Tyler Ennis, Matt Moulson, Marcus Foligno, Mikhail Grigorenko, Mark Pysyk, Jake McCabe, Nic Deslauriers, and Johann Larsson to name a few. Adding ROR would give he Sabres immediate respectability down the middle of the ice. O'Reilly will play wherever you put him in the lineup be it center or wing, and he won't complain.
Imagine a Buffalo center core of:
Girgensons Eichel Reinhart Larsson
This would give Dan Bylsma to flexibility to play Ennis and O'Reilly on the wings and would allow the new head coach to build several power duos in the lineup. I wouldn't get too worked up about where O'Reilly would play in Buffalo. My take: make a trade for him and work out the small details in training camp. Let's face it, all forwards have to play center and wing during NHL games. With the three-man weave concept, all forwards rotate to different positions during games. Centers who get waved out of the faceoff circle force wingers to take draws.
The Avalanche are already owners of the 9th overall pick in the draft. They will likely select a D-man at that spot. Tim Murray could package his 21st overall pick in the McEichel draft along with Grigorenko, Nikita Zadorov, and a second rounder in 2016 in exchange for the 200 foot terror in O'Reilly who will become UFA in 2016. The Avs then could invest the 21st overall pick in a top tier, highly-respected D-man prospect Jeremy Roy from Sherbrooke, Thomas Chabot from St. John, Jakub Zboril from St. John, Travis Dermott of the Erie Otters, Nicolas Meloche from Baie-Comeau or Niagara Ice Dog Vince Dunn.
Nathan MacKinnon nearing the end of his entry level, expect the Avs to re-sign him to a max-out deal worth $64 million (8 years, $8 million AAV per season). O'Reilly signed a two-year, $12 million contract two years ago and will be seeking a long term contract in the 7-8 year range with an annual salary in the $6.2 to $6.5 million range. That type of contract will be too rich for Colorado's blood. Matt Duchene is a $6 million cap hit for the next three season; Gabriel Landeskog is a $4.5 million cap hit for the next 4 seasons; Jarome Iginla is a $5.5 million cap hit for one more season. MacKinnon will earn $925K this season, however, will eat up a ton of cap space when he sky rockets to an $8 million cap hit next season. Patrick Roy and Joe Sakic could fill a need at center by trading for Grigorenko. They can get some cap relief by signing him to a two-year bridge deal in the $4 million range.
O'Reilly 17 goals and added 38 assists in 82 games during the 2014-15 season. The Avs failed to make the playoffs due to poor defensive zone play and a lack of consistent goal scoring among it's talented forward group.
O'Reilly was a key cog in Team Canada's gold medal win at last month's IIHF World Championships in Prague where he scored 2 goals and added 8 assists (3 on PP) in 10 games played.
The Avalanche put out feelers on O'Reilly earlier this year. At one point in mid-January, he was being linked to the Buffalo Sabres in a blockbuster trade that would have sent sky scraping D-man Tyler Myers to Colorado among other valuable pieces. The Avs decided against trading ROR at that time and Sabres GM Tim Murray then sent Myers, Drew Stafford, Brendan Lemieux, Joel Armia, and a 2015 first round pick to Winnipeg in exchange for Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian.
At the March NHL trade deadline, when the Avs weren't able to find a suitable trade partner for O’Reilly, Sakic said that he would like to see O'Reilly remain in Denver on a contract extensions.
One minute they are trying to trade the kid, the next minute they are telling him they want to keep him. The O'Reilly-Avs relationship has been strained since the Calgary Flames offer-sheeted him in February 2013 after the NHL lockout had ended. The Avs immediately matched the Calgary offer sheet. Then, the Avs took O'Reilly to team-initiated arbitration.
After weeks of at times nasty public sparring between the O'Reilly camp and the Avs, both sides avoided arbitration and "agreed" on a spankin, new two-year deal.
Yet the memory of the acrimonious arbitration process still remains. As does the ticklishness of the Calgary sheet.
O'Reilly drafted in the second round of the NHL Draft by the Avs in 2009, 33rd overall. He is an Erie Otters alum.
O'Reilly led the Avs with a career-high 28 goals in 2013-14. He won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, which is awarded to a player who best exemplifies gentlemanly conduct. He also had six game-winning goals as the Avalanche advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 2009-10 under then rookie coach Patrick Roy.
O'Reilly's contract contains an average cap hit of $6 million. In 2014-15 he earned $5.8 million and will earn $6.2 million this season. He will become UFA in July 2016. Should Buffalo make a trade for O'Reilly, they would have to be given every assurance that O'Reilly would be sticking and staying in Buffalo on a long term contract.
Murray has the three things that will appeal to O'Reilly's sense of appreciation:
1. Salary Cap Space. Murray can pay ROR $6.5M for multiple years. 2. TOI: Bylsma has 5 on 5, PP, and PK ice time for ROR. 3. Leadership: O'Reilly's a tireless worker and has a great attitude. He will lead youngsters.
________________________________________________________________________
Not much more is known this morning concerning the playing status of Buffalo Sabres center Mikhail Grigorenko.
The 21 year old will become RFA on July 1.
TSN's Bob McKenzie reported on Saturday that Grigorenko may be considering a return to his mother Russia for a lucrative contract that will allow him to continue his development rather than try to earn a roster spot in Buffalo. The report noted that Sabres GM Tim Murray would not be offering Grigorenko a one-way contract.
So, the question now becomes:
Will Grigo try to work his tail off- again- to play his way onto Buffalo's crowded roster at center ice, or, will accept the money and guaranteed roster spot with CSKA?
The TASS news service is reporting that Grigorenko's agent has said that playing in Russia is an option for Grigorenko, who has scored just 5 goals and added 4 assists in his 68 games played in Buffalo.
Valery Gushchin agent forward of the "Buffalo" Mikhail Grigorenko, confirmed that the player can return to the KHL .
"Option to return Grigorenko in CSKA is not excluded.
While the negotiations with the US and Russia. I think that they will be completed towards the end of the month "- said the agent.
In two weeks, when Sabres GM Tim Murray selects Jack Eichel with second overall pick in the NHL Draft, it will create a monstrosity of a traffic jam at center ice in Buffalo. Which is a great headache to have if you are new head coach Dan Bylsma. Competition brings out the best in everyone. Murray and Bylsma are serious about transitioning the Sabres from the 30th place door mat that they have been the past two seasons to a respected playoff contender.
They will be building their team down the middle of the ice.
Grigorenko will have a tough time earning a center job in Buffalo with the increased equity that has ben added to the center ranks. Eichel and Samson Reinhart bring world class playmaking and scoring to an already crowded pivot posse that already includes Tyler Ennis, Zemgus Girgensons, Cody Hodgson, Johan Larsson and Cody McCormick. Imagine what will happen if/when Murray succeeds in trading for another super center in Ryan O'Reilly?
Too many cooks in the kitchen.
There has to be a trade or two in the works. We are less than two weeks away from the McEichel Draft in Sunrise, Florida. I expect Murray to be very active in the days to come.
Murray may well be working on a trade with Colorado that would include Grigorenko and O'Reilly, among other key pieces. Elliotte Frieman reported Saturday night that the Avalanche are "testing" the market to determine ROR's trade value. The Sabres and Murray have been linked to O'Reilly trade chatter since Murray took over as Buffalo GM in January 2014. Murray could package his 21st overall pick in the McEichel draft along with Grigorenko, Nikita Zadorov, and a second rounder in 2016 in exchange for th 200 foot terror in O'Reilly who will become UFA in 2016. With Nathan MacKinnon nearing the end of his entry level, expect the Avs to re-sign him to a max-out deal worth $64 million (8 years, $8 million AAV per season). O'Reilly signed a two-year, $12 million contract two years ago and will be seeking a long term contract in the 7-8 year range with an annual salary in the $6.2 to $6.5 million range. That type of contract will be too rich for Colorado's blood. Matt Duchene is a $6 million cap hit for the next three season; Gabriel Landeskog is a $4.5 million cap hit for the next 4 seasons; Jarome Iginla is a $5.5 million cap hit for one more season. MacKinnon will earn $925K this season, however, will eat up a ton of cap space when he sky rockets to an $8 million cap hit next season. Patrick Roy and Joe Sakic could fill a need at center by trading for Grigorenko. They can get some cap relief by signing him to a two-year bridge deal in the $4 million range.
The Avs have invested heavily in their forward ranks, however, to start adding difference makers to their the D corps.
Thus, they should trade ROR now to get maximum trade compensation for him before he skates out of Denver as a UFA with zero compensation. Murray is no fool. Before any deal is done with ROR, he would have to negotiate and sign off on a long term contract extension. I don't see that as an impediment.
Murray said earlier this week that he is considering a buyout of Hodgson, who is currently working on his skating while in Sweden. Grigorenko will be RFA on July 1 and Murray has emphatically said that he will be tendering a new contract offer to the 21 year old Russian. According to the report, the tender will be a two-way contract offer that will assign Grigorenko to the Rochester Americans if he fails to make the Buffalo roster.
Perhaps Murray ends up trading Grigorenko at or before the NHL Draft. If not, the opportunity to play for CKSA is always a secondary option for Grigi.
Like with all things Tim Murray, let's just see what tomorrow brings.
In 68 career games with the Sabres, Grigo has scored just 5 goals and 4 assists. In 43 career games in Rochester, he has scored 14 goals and added 22 assists.