From Nate Lundy of 104.3 The Fan in Denver:
Patrick Roy: "I have a lot of confidence in Ryan O'Reilly. I would be surprised if we trade him." #NHL #Avalanche
— Nate Lundy (@natelundy) February 26, 2015
Patrick Roy: "Joe (Sakic) has spoken to (O'Reilly's) agent. We would love to have him as an Av for a long time."
— Nate Lundy (@natelundy) February 26, 2015
So that’s kind of interesting.
And the Ryan O’Reilly trade speculation has sort of petered out since December and January.
To refresh your memory, O’Reilly is signed through 2015-16, after which he can become an unrestricted free agent. The 24-year-old can’t sign an extension until July 1 -- a fact that always made a trade, if one was ever going to happen, more likely to occur this summer than prior to Monday’s deadline.
So there’s still a long way to go here.
But maybe -- just maybe -- the two sides can put their contentious negotiating history in the past and get a long-term deal done.
Related: Sakic says there was ‘never any animosity’ between Avs and O’Reilly