Buffalo Sabres Round Table: 2015 Draft Thoughts

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Apr 11, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Avalanche fans celebrate the go ahead goal by right wing Jarome Iginla (12) (not pictured) against the Chicago Blackhawks at the Pepsi Center. The Avalanche defeated the Blackhawks 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Janik Beichler, Editor – Mile High Sticking

The months leading up to the draft have been all about Ryan O’Reilly. You actually have to go back to when he signed an offer sheet of the Calgary Flames in 2013, if you want to get the whole story. Long story short, O’Reilly wanted more money than the Avalanche was willing to give him and quite possibly more than he deserves, every time his contract would expire. That led to a lot of discussion year after year, week for week, so that the first reaction to the trade was “it is finally over.”

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That feeling got even stronger when The Denver Post’s Mike Chambers blogged that O’Reilly was asking for an eight-year, $64 million contract. Don’t get me wrong, O’Reilly is an outstanding player. He just isn’t one that deserves $8 million a year.

I was a big supporter of the possibility to trade O’Reilly and it seemed like I was part of that two percent group of Avalanche fans that wanted to get rid of him. Colorado’s biggest problem is puck possession and advanced stats show that O’Reilly was a huge piece in getting those stats up as “high” as they were. At the same time, he has the potential to be a consistent 50-point scorer. So why trade him?

The only answer to that is his contract demands. He is not Sidney Crosby, he is not Steven Stamkos, he is not Ryan Getzlaf and he is not Logan Couture. If O’Reilly really wants the contract mentioned above and I was Joe Sakic, I would personally carry O’Reilly to Buffalo and drop him at the Sabres’ front porch. Good thing he is gone.

That said, I do believe that he can really help the Sabres for the future, if they get him signed to a somewhat reasonable contract. As to the return that came from Buffalo, I had Nikita Zadorov as a main trade target and just hope that Mikhail Grigorenko, J.T. Compher and A.J. Greer (who is the closest relative to Buffalo’s 31st pick) turn into great assets as well.

Next: Jack Leiper, Editor - SenShot

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