Done deal, Ryan O'Reilly in the fold

Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com


For a while there post draft lottery, some Buffalo Sabres fans had shots of anxiety running through them thinking about the possibility of Jack Eichel staying in college another year. Or, worse yet, a full-fledged panic-attack took hold with the thought of Eichel staying in college until he became a free agent then bolting for another team. Such are the thoughts of some in the Buffalo fan base that root for teams generally considered to be amongst the unluckiest, bordering on cursed, sports teams in all of sports.

And after Sabres GM Tim Murray traded for the disgruntled one (supposedly) in Colorado, Ryan O'Reilly, mild panic struck once again as some had him not signing an extension and bolting for a new team at the conclusion of the upcoming season.

With Eichel signing his entry-level contract on Thursday and O'Reilly signing an extension just minutes ago, edgy Buffalo sports fans can set aside the Xanax and rest a bit easy, at least until the Bills get rolling and the whole "quarterback thing" becomes another reason to reach for the meds.

Eichel had said at his presser that he had wanted to play in the NHL all along, but kept the decision to himself, and wouldn't release it until after the draft. "After the world championships I came back pretty set on moving on (to the NHL,)" said Eichel, "but I could never make anything public. I wasn't even drafted yet so for me to come out and say I was going to leave school before being drafted didn't seem like the right move to me."


The 18 yr. old Eichel showed extreme poise at his presser that officially begins an era named after him. He was calm, cool and collected during the 24-minute presser even while facing an "investigative" question that revolved around him playing in the NHL this year as a "condition" of his contract. Something as abominal as that, of course, might have some fans (or reporters) looking at him as a prima donna. "As to what was said in the Boston media," said Eichel looking at the reporter, "I think it was misinterpreted."

Speaking of being "misinterpreted," and/or misunderstood, O'Reilly has been subject to plenty of media attention since before he signed a 2yr./$10m offer sheet from the Calgary Flames' former GM Jay Feaster.  Forget that the offer sheet itself was a major blunder on Feaster's part (a total misunderstanding of the collective bargaining agreement,) it was a move that put O'Reilly's salary for 2013/14 at $6.5 million, it would set the stage for his eventual departure.

Coming off of that second-year, O'Reilly was arbitration eligible but it was the Avalanche who would elect to use their team salary arbitration option. Their goal was to make things more manageable short-term via a reasonable cap-hit while also keeping their star players, and their contractual worth, in the proper pecking order. The end result was a 2yr./$12m contract and the beginnings of a strained relationship between O'Reilly and Colorado. Prior to the trade to Buffalo, it was reported that during preliminary negotiations on a new contract, the O'Reilly camp was seeking an 8yr./$64m deal to stay with the 'Lanche, something that just wasn't feasible.

From what we've gathered so far, O'Reilly let's his agent handle negotiations, which works for him, while he takes care of things on the ice. Despite his outstanding six-year career in Colorado, he was never going to get out from the under  shadows cast by captain Gabriel Landeskog, 2010 Calder Trophy finalist Matt Duchene and former 2013 first-overall pick Nathan MacKinnon. All three are extremely talented top-three picks who would be headed into the 2015/16 season making less than O'Reilly, an overachiever who was plucked in the second round (2009, 33rd overall.)

O'Reilly goes from playing in the shadows as well as casting shadows (from contract negotiations) in Colorado to sharing the limelight in Buffalo, "I think in the past with Colorado I wasn’t really looked at as much of a leader. I've always wanted to be a big piece like that, have that leadership role and be seen as that by the management," he said. "It's another area to grow my game. If I can do that and transfer what I know and still at the same time learn new things, it's only going to benefit the team and benefit myself. It's a huge step that I can't wait to get started with."

Can't wait to get started, indeed. O'Reilly will be under contract with the Sabres for the next eight years after signing a max-term, seven-year deal.