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Report: O’Reilly wants $6.7M deal, Avs counter at $5.5M

Colorado Avalanche v Minnesota Wild - Game Three

ST PAUL, MN - APRIL 21: Ryan O’Reilly #90 of the Colorado Avalanche looks on in Game Three of the First Round of the 2014 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Minnesota Wild on April 21, 2014 at Xcel Energy Center in St Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

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It seemed inevitable that Colorado and Ryan O’Reilly would get to their salary arbitration hearing and, based on a report that surfaced Monday, it now feels like a virtual lock.

O’Reilly is reportedly seeking a $6.75 million deal for next season, per The Hockey News. It’s a big ask from the 23-year-old, as the figure would make O’Reilly the 24th-highest salaried forward in the NHL -- on par with the likes of Jeff Carter and Joe Thornton -- and give him a bigger cap hit than Colorado’s current highest-paid player, Matt Duchene ($6M per).

The Avs, meanwhile, are countering with a decidedly less expensive number, relatively speaking: $5.525M, which is technically a salary reduction. Per the conditions of Colorado matching Calgary’s offer sheet for O’Reilly two seasons ago, he made $6.5 million in salary last year after netting $3.5 the first (with a $2.5M signing bonus).

Avs offering $5.525 million in arb. That represents 15% pay cut from ’13-14 salary of $6.5 million, maximum allowed under CBA.

— Ken Campbell (@THNKenCampbell) July 21, 2014


So yeah, Colorado’s playing a little hardball.

How this all shakes out remains to be seen. For all the drama surrounding his contractual status over the last two years, O’Reilly is still a quality two-way forward that continues to produce despite the white noise, notching career highs in goals (28) and points (64) last year for the Central Division-winning Avs.

As for those Avs... Colorado will catch some heat for its brazen approach, but remember -- the club has been very consistent with the way it’s handled O’Reilly since his entry-level deal expired. The Avs believe they know what O’Reilly’s market value is, and they’re sticking to it.