ROR Gets 7 x $7.5M (sabres)

Updated:

Sabres GM Tim Murray has released this statement on the Ryan O'Reilly signing:

“We’re happy to have Ryan locked up to a long-term deal. It’s not easy to find a player who, at his age, is already established in the league as someone who plays a complete game and makes his teammates better. When we acquired him, we viewed him as someone who could immediately improve our roster but was still young enough to make an impact for several years to come, and this contract reflects that belief.…

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Tim Murray made it official this afternoon.

Ryan O'Reilly has signed a seven year contract extension with the Buffalo Sabres.

O'Reilly won't have to trifle over contract negotiations until 2013 when he will be 31 years old.

On July 1, Murray and the Sabres were given the green light to negotiate the contract extension with the versatile power center's agent.

The days of contact acrimony are now gone for O'Reilly. He won't have to think about a contract negotiation until 2013 when he will be 32 years of age. What a relief it will be for "The Factor" to go to the rink and not have to worry about arm wrestling over every last penny with his employers like he had in Colorado.

Last summer, the Colorado Avalanche opted to take O'Reilly to team-elected arbitration. moments before the late-July 2014 arbitration hearing, the two side agreed on a two year, $12 million contract. O'Reilly earned $5.8 million last season and will earn $6.2 million next season.

The 6'0"" 210 pound O'Reilly is 24 years old and has already played 427 career games in the NHL (plus 13 playoff games) will be a permanent fixture in Buffalo's success for years to come. O'Reilly is a gritty, tenacious 200 by 85 foot terror for his opponents to have to deal with. He is a 53% face-off man. He is one of the better puck possession centers in the NHL. The puck seems to stick to his blade like it's smeared with glue. O'Reilly kills penalties and plays the power play as well.

O'Reilly was traded last Friday night at the NHL Draft along with power forward Jamie McGinn, in exchange for Mikhail Grigorenko, Nikita Zadorov, J.T. Compher and the #31 selection in the EichDavid draft.

rior to joining the Sabres, O’Reilly played in Colorado for six seasons, recording at least 50 points in each of the last three full NHL seasons. The Clinton, Ontario native tallied 55 points (17+38) in 82 games last season as a member of the Avalanche. O’Reilly led all Colorado forwards in ice time in each of the last two seasons and also led all Colorado skaters in takeaways in both seasons. His faceoff percentage (53.4%) in 2014-15 led all Avalanche players, ranking 20th in the NHL. A former Avalanche second-round pick (33rd overall) in 2009, O’Reilly has appeared in 427 NHL regular-season games, recording 246 points (90+156) and 64 penalty minutes. He has added seven points (3+4) in 13 postseason games. O’Reilly was awarded the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in 2014 following a 2013-14 season in which he recorded 28 goals and 64 points – and only two penalty minutes – in 80 games

O'Reilly played a huge role in Team Canada's gold medal win at the IIHF World Hockey Championships in Prague in May. It was there that He played with Sabres water bug Tyler Ennis. The two players found instant chemistry. When the tournament was over and the Canadians flew home with their gold medals, Tim Murray mashed the gas pedal to the floor in his hot pursuit of O'Reilly. The shared belief around the NHL was that the Colorado Avalanche management team would have to trade O'Reilly because they were comfortable having to pay him $64 million over 8 years. The Avs have those dollars already ear marked for their young super sniper Nathan MacKinnon. Matt Duchene is Colorado's #2 center and he earns $6 million per season. The Avs couldn't see paying their third line center in excess of $7 milllion per season. Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma has already said that O'Reilly will play a bigger leadership role on the Sabres as the team's #1 center which is a far cry from being a role player in Denver.

Murray read the tea leaves and immediately pounced on his opportunity to acquire O'Reilly. Trade rumors involving O'Reilly and Buffalo have been alive and kicking for years. I've been reporting in this space for the past three years that O'Reilly would eventually become a Buffalo Sabre. It was just a matter of time and it was well worth the wait.

I can see O'Reilly have a breakout season this year with Kane and Ennis on his wings. It's not outlandish to project a 220 to 240 point season from the Kane-O'Reilly-Ennis line this season

Perhaps Tim Murray will have a doubleheader press conference where Ryan and Cal O'Reilly each sign and discuss their new contracts with the Buffalo Sabres. Cal officially signed his two year, $1.4 million one way contract with the Sabres. He and Bobby Sanguinetti helped lead the Utica Comets to the Calder Cup Finals last season.

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Tim Murray also has signed veteran D-man Carlo Colaiaocovo who last played for the Philadelphia Flyers. Carlo will add immediate depth. He has played in 433 NHL games.

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