Last week, the Colorado Avalanche placed Ryan O’Reilly on the trading block. The Avalanche are looking to possibly move the forward for a defenseman. O’Reilly is set to become a free agent at the end of next season. General Manager Joe Sakic hopes to have him signed to a new contract before the season starts.
Ryan O’Reilly is one of the best young forwards for Colorado. He was drafted by the Avalanche back in 2009. He played for the organization for the last six years. In his career he has totaled 90 goals and 156 assists. His best year on the ice was in 2014 when he scored 28 goals. He had only two penalty minutes all of that year which helped the Avalanche win the Central Division. O’Reilly had respectable numbers last year. He had 17 goals and 38 assists for a total of 55 points.
If the Avalanche don’t trade him they would have an outstanding young core. This includes forwards Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Duchene, and Gabriel Landeskog. That is an impressive core to build around for years to come.
Colorado has been through difficult contract negotiations with O’Reilly in 2013. The NHL lockout didn’t help negotiations that year. When the lockout was over, Colorado tried to sign O’Reilly to a deal. O’Reilly signed a two-year $10 million offer sheet with the Calgary Flames. Colorado had seven days to match it or they would have received first and third round-picks as compensation. Colorado thought he was too valuable to let go and matched the offer sheet.
Trading O’Reilly may not be the worst idea for Joe Sakic. He experienced disappointment with negotiations with Paul Stastny last year. Stastny was set to be a free agent in the summer. Colorado thought about trading Stastny at the trade deadline in case he were to leave. Colorado decided to keep Stastny and hoped he would re-sign. He ended up going to the St. Louis Blues. Colorado didn’t get anything back for Stastny. If Sakic can’t get an agreement completed, the Avalanche should trade O’Reilly. O’Reilly can score goals but the Avalanche have forwards who can replace O’Reilly. These include Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog, Alex Tanguay, and Jarome Iginala. The Avalanche wouldn’t miss his presence on the ice.
Colorado needs to improve the defense heading into the upcoming season. Colorado gave up the 9th most goals per game in the league last year giving up 2.72 goals. They were outshot most games as the opponent had 33.2 shots on goal per game while Colorado managed 27.9 shots per game. If it takes trading Ryan O’Reilly to receive a defenseman, Colorado should do that deal.
What should Colorado do with Ryan O’Reilly?
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