Staying Put

Within hours of signing an offer sheet with Calgary, Ryan O'Reilly will be returning to the Colorado Avalanche after they decided to match the offer.  If you want to know the details of what Calgary was offering, read the previous piece.  Today is about why Colorado came out the big loser...and why they were losers no matter the outcome.

By matching the offer, the Avs eventually gave in to O'Reilly's contract demands, thus making general manager Greg Sherman looking like a complete doofus.  This is a deal that could backfire, as it is unknown as to whether O'Reilly will be happy upon his return.  If O'Reilly is unhappy, that means the Avs will have to deal with him for an entire year, as they cannot trade him until February 28, 2014.  That's a whole year of potential trouble.  The other side of the coin would be if O'Reilly was allowed to walk after the seven day period to Calgary.  Had the Avs let him go to a division rival in Calgary, it would have brought the same amount of vitriol to the team that they did not need any more of, as it would mean O'Reilly could have a minimum of five games to stick it to his old team.  In short, the Avs let it go for far too long, and I would not be surprised if both Sherman and coach Joe Sacco were given their walking papers at the end of the season, particularly if they don't get into the playoffs.