This hardly comes as a surprise, but it sure looks like Ryan O'Reilly's next contract will be decided by an arbitrator.
The Denver Post reports that the Avalanche and O'Reilly's agent, Pat Morris, still haven't been able to reach an agreement on a long-term contract, though there's still time to do it before the arbitration hearing scheduled for July 23.
Avalanche executive vice president of hockey operations Joe Sakic wants to re-sign O'Reilly, a restricted free agent, to a multi-year contract. "We want Ryan to be here, and to be here for a long time," he said.
That isn't likely considering recent history. The Avalanche and O'Reilly's representatives couldn't come to an agreement before the 2012-13 lockout-shortened season, when O'Reilly eventually signed a two-year, $10 million offer sheet from Calgary that the Avalanche matched.
Colorado filed last month to take O'Reilly to arbitration this time around when talks on a new deal proved fruitless.
O'Reilly made a pro-rated $3.5 million the first year (he played in 29 games) and $6.5 million last year, when he set career highs for goals (28), points (64) and led the NHL in takeaways (83). He had one minor penalty in 80 games and won the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship.
Assuming an arbitrator makes the decision, O'Reilly can't be paid less than 85 percent of his most recent salary, so he's guaranteed a minimum of $5.525 million. He'll be offered one- and two-year contracts, the second of which would take him through the 2015-16 season, after which he would become an unrestricted free agent.
Accepting a one-year deal would just make everyone go through this whole process again, though I have to believe the Avalanche will eventually trade O'Reilly whether he winds up with a one- or two-year contract.
The Avalanche also has to sign restricted free agents Tyson Barrie, Stefan Elliott and Joey Hishon. All three received qualifying offers.
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St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Sobotka, whose arbitration hearing is scheduled for July 21, reportedly has signed a three-year contract to play for Omsk in Russia's Kontinental Hockey League.
A restricted free agent, Sobotka had nine goals and 24 assists in 61 games last season.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the Blues offered Sobotka a one-year contract for $2.7 million and a two-year deal for $3 million each. Sobotka made $1.4 million last season. The Blues elected to file for arbitration when they couldn't reach an agreement.
With Sobotka apparently gone, the Blues have since signed unrestricted free agent Steve Ott to a two-year, $5.2 million contract.
Ott had three assists and 37 penalty minutes in 23 games with St. Louis following his acquisition from Buffalo in the Ryan Miller trade. Ott had nine goals, 11 assists and 55 penalty minutes in 59 games with the Sabres.
O'Reilly, Sobotka and Winnipeg's Michael Frolik are the only players whose teams filed for arbitration. Frolik made $1.9 million last year while collecting 15 goals and 27 assists in 81 games for the Jets.
The NHL Players Association announced that 20 other players elected to go to arbitration.