The Colorado Avalanche went into this summer with a ton of free agent questions to answer and solved almost all of those riddles.
Still, there’s one rather important restricted free agent to re-sign: Ryan O’Reilly. Adrian Dater reports that the Avs and O’Reilly’s agent are expected to resume contract talks “in a week or two.”
Earlier this offseason, Dater wondered if Matt Duchene’s negotiations were halting talks between the two sides. That problem is long gone, though.
The big question might just be: how much is O’Reilly really worth? He exploded last season with 18 goals and 55 points, crushing the 26 points he compiled in each of his first two campaigns.
It’s not just his output that’s drawing rave reviews, though. Dater spoke of his creativity while Mike Chambers praised his work ethic:
While his teammates are headed to lunch or a post-game meal, O’Reilly is typically playing on-ice games by himself, running the arena stairs or throwing around a medicine ball. He is the epitome of a hard-working professional athlete who really cares.
Perhaps the two sides will determine how much his hard work is worth in a couple weeks, then.