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O’Reilly offersheet: ‘Now we can move forward as a hockey club’ says Avs GM

Colorado Avalanche v Buffalo Sabres

skates against the Buffalo Sabres at the First Niagara Center on March 14, 2012 in Buffalo, New York. The Avalanche defeated the Sabres 5-4 in the shootout.

Bruce Bennett

It was the National Hockey League’s soap opera of the day - the Calgary Flames signing Ryan O’Reilly to an offer sheet and then the Colorado Avalanche matching it a few hours later.

Not long after the Avalanche matched the Flames offer of two years at an average of $5 million annually, Colorado general manager Greg Sherman addressed the issue.

“This was a goal of ours from the onset, to get Ryan signed and that goal was completed today,” said Sherman in an audio clip on Altitude Sports and Entertainment.

“With the support, I can tell you, of our ownership not only today but throughout this process, we have come to terms with Ryan O’Reilly and now we move forward as a hockey club.”

The timing of the events was perfect. The two teams were matched up against each other in Denver.

The Flames organization offered another brief statement later in the evening, saying the club tried to acquire O’Reilly in a trade but that the asking price “was too steep and would negatively impact our future.”

The statement added: “We attempted to improve our hockey team and will continue to do so going forward.”