NHL Rumors: What Could The Next Deals Be For Ramus Dahlin and Ryan O’Reilly
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Rasmus Dahlin‘s Next Contract Comes Into Focus Now For Buffalo

Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News: Lysowski writes that now that Dylan Cozens has signed his new seven-year contract extension with the Buffalo Sabres, general manager Kevyn Adams‘s focus now becomes extending defenceman Rasmus Dahlin. 

The times are changing in Buffalo with the young core wanting to stay long-term. Prior to Cozens signing his extension, Adams extended Tage Thompson and Mattias Samuelson. He wants to do the same with the other young players on the team.

NHL Rumors: Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams could look to reward his team with a deadline move or two

Dahlin has emerged as one of the top defensemen in the NHL. He is second in points with 55 and goals with 14. With his effectiveness at both ends of the ice, Dahlin, the number one pick from the 2018 NHL Draft could earn one of the more lucrative contracts for a defenseman.

Cale Makar‘s new deal with the Avalanche has an average annual value of $9 million. Adam Fox‘s seven-year deal pays him $9.5 million per season. Charlie McAvoy of the Bruins also has a $9.5 million cap hit. There are at least 10 defensemen in the NHL that have a cap hit of $9 million. Dahlin could be the next one.

Kevyn Adams has a busy offseason ahead with Dahlin being the priority.

What Could Ryan O’Reilly‘s Next Contract Look Like?

Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post Dispatch: DeFranks writes that Ryan O’Reilly continues to recover from his broken as he remains one of the top trade targets on the market. O’Reilly along with Ivan Barbashev and Noel Acciari remain three tradeable pending free agents now that Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola have been traded.

NHL Rumors: St. Louis Blues trade tiers, Ivan Barbashev, and Ryan O’Reilly

If O’Reilly does not move at the deadline and opts to stay in St. Louis, his new deal is a little more complicated than we think.

O’Reilly, a two-way center in his 30s, is underperforming in a contract year and is in a unique situation with the salary cap being flat over the past few seasons.  DeFranks looks at the contracts of Claude Giroux, Joe Pavelski when he first signed in Dallas, Patrick Marleau when he signed in Toronto, Mikael Granlund in Nashville and others down the list.
O’Reilly likely lands somewhere in the middle of all this, as if that were going out on a limb at all. His production doesn’t warrant being paid like Giroux was this past off-season. His pedigree allows him to make more money than a player like Jenner. But the wide gap between the two is the conundrum potentially facing the Blues.