Thread: THE official Colorado Avalanche/NHL thread!!!

Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy have learned their lesson. I'm convinced they never again will allow a coveted player to remain with the team beyond the trading deadline if he can be an unrestricted free agent on July 1. They did that with Paul Stastny ... and they got burned.

It's very clear — and this will affect Ryan O'Reilly, among others, moving forward — that Sakic and Roy are sincere when they speak of a "structure," and it's about more than money. It's about buying in, being committed, wanting to be here and backing it up. The Avalanche has displayed the commitment to the model with lucrative long-term extensions, and will try to avoid even getting into the Stastny position again.

Sakic can't get too huffy. In August 1997, he agreed to a front-loaded, three-year, $21 million offer sheet from the Rangers. The cash-short Avalanche ownership of that era had to scramble to be able to write the initial $15 million check. Sakic was a restricted, not unrestricted, free agent.

rest - http://www.denverpost.com/frei/ci_26...t-paul-stastny

Adrian Dater @adater · 10m

Avs now tell me that Maxim Noreau indeed has a one-way contract and will be at camp in Sept. They originally said minor-league deal

Originally Posted by Denver Native (Carol)

rest - http://www.denverpost.com/frei/ci_26...t-paul-stastny

Thanks Carol for keeping us posted on what's going on this off season.....You're the best....

Just saw this from Dater:

Avs will hold a rookie camp this year. Word is it’ll start Sept. 8 at the practice facility. They haven’t had one the last few years, so this will be a nice thing for hardcore fans again.

I guess since there is no Bronco camp I'm really looking forward to this....plus I an go this year and that's exciting!!!

Negotiations toward a long-term contract between the Avalanche and left wing Ryan O'Reilly proved fruitless, so the parties are headed to arbitration July 23, an NHL source said Thursday.

While the Avs and O'Reilly still could avoid arbitration by agreeing to a deal before that, such a prospect appears unlikely.

What it means is this: O'Reilly will have the terms of his next contract dictated by an arbitrator, who will present the 23-year-old forward with the choice of either a one-year or two-year binding contract, and O'Reilly will have to decide one or the other.

rest - http://www.denverpost.com/avalanche/...r-talks-falter

Wednesday in some office room in Toronto, the Avalanche will face off against Ryan O’Reilly, pun intended.
It really does look like they are going to arbitration, folks. No last-minute settlement – as often happens between player and team right before an arbitration date – is likely. Both sides in this matter don’t like it when I say there is “bad blood” between the two sides, that this is all just business and nothing more.

But I wasn’t born yesterday. If they don’t like “bad blood”, how about “perceived differences in value that has gotten a bit personal.”

The Avs didn’t like it when I wrote in the middle of last season that, hey, why not get something done with Ryan O’Reilly long-term right now, why risk going into the summer without a new deal between them and O’Reilly and potentially have things go sideways like they did before and during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season? The Avs told me that things were good between them and O’Reilly, and that they had peacefully agreed to postpone serious talks until the summer — and gave me the indication that it would be a foregone conclusion that a new, long-term deal would happen.

rest - http://blogs.denverpost.com/avs/2014...on-date/18909/

Ryan O'Reilly will seek $6.75 million on his next contract with the Avalanche, a $250,000 raise from what he earned this past season.The Avalanche hopes to pay him $5.525 million.

Monday morning, O'Reilly and the Avs filed paperwork for their pending arbitration case, to be held Wednesday in Toronto. Two NHL sources confirmed the numbers both sides are asking.

Under rules of arbitration, O'Reilly had the option of accepting a one- or two-year contract from the arbitrator; he chose the one-year option. Both sides have to submit their desired salary outcome, and O'Reilly is asking for the $6.75 million, which would make him the highest-paid player on the Avs.

rest - http://www.denverpost.com/avalanche/...he-arbitration

AVS AND O'REILLY AGREE TO TWO-YEAR DEAL, AVOID ARBITRATION
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=457771
Sorry for all caps lol it is copy and paste

Elizabeth Neumeier, a member of the National Academy of Arbitrators, was just about to hear opening arguments in "Avalanche v. Ryan O'Reilly." Outside a Toronto conference room in which she sat, Joe Sakic, Greg Sherman, Pat Morris and O'Reilly were about to head in, resigned to go through with an arbitration hearing in which the Avs would ask Neumeier to award the minimum $5.525 million on a one-year contract, while the O'Reilly camp would ask for $6.75 million.

"We were right outside the door, ready to do this," Sakic said.

Suddenly, the realization came to both parties: We don't have to do this. We can still strike a deal if we want. And so they did. While a long-term contract remains elusive, the Avs and O'Reilly did the next best thing, agreeing to a two-year, $12 million deal.

It was as simple as it sounds: With the deadline of the hearing bearing down on them and the uncertainty it would bring for both sides, Sakic, Sherman, Morris and O'Reilly all looked at each other and realized it was in everybody's best interests to work something out on their own.

rest - http://www.denverpost.com/avalanche/...ear-12-million

Originally Posted by MileHighCrew

AVS AND O'REILLY AGREE TO TWO-YEAR DEAL, AVOID ARBITRATION
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=457771
Sorry for all caps lol it is copy and paste

YEAH!!!!! Not sorry for the caps....at a least a little bit of good news today....thanks Mile High and Carol...

Cory Sarich, who played 54 games for the Avalanche last season and was an unrestricted free agent, was seriously injured Monday after being hit by a car while bicycling in Invermere, British Columbia. Sarich was airlifted to a hospital in Calgary, Alberta. Calgary's CTV reported he was diagnosed with several fractured vertebrae and many bruises.

"It's been a rough couple of days, and I'm grateful for the support I've been receiving from the medical team here and from family and friends," Sarich said in a release. "My wife, Reagan, and I appreciate all of the kind words and encouragement."

Sarich, 35, has spent parts of 15 seasons in the NHL and has played 969 career games — the majority with the Calgary Flames and Tampa Bay Lightning.

rest - http://www.denverpost.com/avalanche/...y-injured-bike

Thanks Carol. I saw on FB that Dater had said the he had been injured but didn't have any details. A really nice man, I hope he gets well soon and glad he survived the accident, it sounded really bad.

A reader emailed me a link to the following YouTube video and noted it had less than 1,000 views. Hilarious. It was obviously made at least a year ago, but published April 9, 2014. It’s certainly a gem, given what Nathan MacKinnon accomplished as an 18-year-old NHL rookie.

rest - plus video - http://blogs.denverpost.com/avs/2014...dy-skit/19070/

Magness Arena will host the Avalanche's annual Burgundy/White Game on Sept. 21, with the intrasquad scrimmage returning to the University of Denver for the first time since 2006.

DU previously hosted the event in 2002, 2003 and 2005. It game also has been played at the Air Force Academy (Cadet Ice Arena), in Colorado Springs (World Arena) and in Broomfield (1st Bank Center). It was played at Air Force five of the past seven years, including 2013.

This year's game begins at 11 a.m. and tickets are $10 to $25, going on sale Monday at 10 a.m. The game will feature a shootout at the end of regulation.

http://www.denverpost.com/avalanche/...ndy-white-game

DENVER -- The goaltender known as "Jiggy" is stepping away from the net.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere announced his retirement Thursday after 16 NHL seasons in which he won 262 games, a Conn Smythe Trophy and a Stanley Cup championship.

The Colorado Avalanche say Giguere made his decision in Quebec while with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada hockey team. He's part owner of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League squad.

"His achievements speak for themselves, from winning the Stanley Cup to winning the Conn Smythe, Jiggy was always a top-notch goaltender," team executive Joe Sakic said in a statement. "He was also a very important part of our team during the past three seasons, providing veteran leadership and stability in net. We wish him and his family the best of luck."

rest - http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/11...res-16-seasons