The Colorado Avalanche had a wild couple of hours on Thursday.
Shortly before the puck dropped in Denver, Colorado’s opponent for the night, the Calgary Flames, made a bold move. The Flames signed Avalanche holdout Ryan O’Reilly to a two-year offer sheet, putting the pressure on Colorado to either let him go or match the offer.
But while the Flames were playing very good hockey in the first period, Colorado was discussing whether to match the offer to O’Reilly—even though the Avs had seven days to come to a final decision.
The Avs would match the Flames’ offer—signing O’Reilly to a two-year deal—and that must have lit a spark underneath the players because the momentum shifted toward Colorado. The Avs, who were down 3-0 after one, went on to defeat the Flames 5-4 for their second win over Calgary on the night.
But now that O’Reilly is back with the Avs—and cannot be traded until Feb. 28, 2014—who are the true winners and losers of the deal? Here’s my take on the situation.
Winner: Ryan O’Reilly, Forward
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Article written by Benjamin Klein
Colorado Avalanche: Winners and Losers of Avs Matching Offer for Ryan O’Reilly
March 2nd, 2013 by Benjamin Klein Leave a reply »
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