Dreger: Avalanche will do "everything they can" to keep O'Reilly

Darren Dreger was on Edmonton’s TSN 1260 on Thursday morning.

On how much more money Ryan O’Reilly could get on his next contract – whether on the open market or the team to which he might get traded - given what he got via the offer sheet:

“Right, well that would be a concern for the team that’s trading for Ryan O’Reilly. It’s not his ability. It’s not the impact that he can provide. It’s what is he going to cost long term.

“And you’re creeping close to unrestricted free agency for Ryan O’Reilly. He’s got another season under contract, then he’s a UFA. So if you’re making that trade, then you’re going to want to be absolutely certain that there’s a deal to be reached and an extension to be had. Otherwise, you’re not going to pay a top asset to acquire Ryan O’Reilly.

“But know this – Patrick Roy loves Ryan O’Reilly for all the reasons you saw and mentioned last night. So I think the Colorado Avalanche are going to do everything they can to keep him in the mix, but everything has a price tag. So that’s going to be multiple conversations between Joe Sakic of the Avalanche and Pat Morris, who represents Ryan O’Reilly.

“But he is such a key piece of that team. It’ll be real difficult for them to replace him, but as we know – every team has to deal with the salary cap. And in the end, if Joe Sakic and the Avalanche don’t believe that Ryan O’Reilly is worth 6.5 or $7 million per year, then chances are they’ll have to make that conclusion this summer and at that point then they’ll find a trade.”

Source: TSN 1260/ Transcript: Nichols on Hockey

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