Adrian Dater: The Avalanche say they will continue to try and re-sign Ryan O’Reilly. Filing for salary arbitration is not a major deal. Negotiations with O’Reilly have never been easy for them. O’Reilly’s agent said there is “nothing to report.” The Avs may be thinking that O’Reilly is a $5 million player. He made $6.5 million this past season.
Hope Smoke: Darren Dreger: “I wouldn’t say there’s bad blood between ROR and the Avs. This is the business of hockey” … “The Avs have a slot to fill when it comes paying that $. What I know is, the Avs appreciate and value ROR in their lineup” … “There are many teams around the NHL that would love to get their hands on ROR through trade or otherwise” … “Sakic & Roy are always, at least to this point, been reluctant to include ROR in trade discussion b/c of how much they value him” … “Lots of teams are interested . I’d look at Wpg as an example, not that I’m trying to connect the two clubs because I can’t see Col making that move, but I can remember Maurice vividly talking about ROR in the KHL during the lockout”
