Ryan O’Reilly Is on Fire

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Ryan O’Reilly is on fire and showing no signs of slowing down or letting up. He leads all forwards with most takeaways this year, again, and has 23 points in his last 20 games. If that’s not considered to be “on fire”, then throw the water on me. The Colorado Avalanche need Ryan O’Reilly as he has really emerged as a true top center in the game. A top center who is also one of the league’s best two-way forwards. This is someone you cannot let leave your organization.

Back to Center

Since O’Reilly has moved back to his natural center position, he has been much more productive. Though last year he played left-wing and was outstanding, which proves what a versatile forward he is. Ryan O’Reilly and captain Gabe Landeskog have formed great chemistry together. They’ve always had it. Nathan MacKinnon was on the right side of that line before his foot injury forced him out, and they were fantastic to watch. Now, Alex Tanguay has slotted into that right-wing position on O’Reilly’s line, and now they too, are on fire. You’d find it extremely difficult trying to locate a player in better form than Ryan O’Reilly is at this moment. It appears as though he has reached a new level of his game. He is taking over hockey games, playing more physical and becoming a dominant force on the ice night in, night out.

The New Regime

The facts are that the “ugliness” and “heated talks” that were reported between the Avalanche and O’Reilly’s camp all happened under the previous regime. Now that Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy have taken the reigns, it’s a brand new relationship. They won’t make the mistake of letting Ryan O’Reilly leave the organization over such a small difference in what both sides want contract wise. It is evident now more than ever that Colorado must lock down O’Reilly to a long-term deal. With the new regime in place, I would say things between both camps have improved drastically and that a deal will and must be hammered out. Ryan O’Reilly is proving to Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy what a uniquely talented player he is. One that every other team in the NHL would love to get their hands on. Which is exactly why the Avs need to keep hold of one of their prized assets, and for the long-term at that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zal8oggjYrY

Lock Him Up and Throw Away the Key

If these last 30 or so games haven’t convinced Avalanche fans that he should be kept as a core piece for the long-term, I don’t know what can. O’Reilly has stepped up into another level, he is just continuing to improve, and is a very important piece for Colorado’s promising future. This streak is no fluke, O’Reilly is an extremely talented player combined with an incredible work rate. A dangerous combination, which is becoming more clear with every passing day.

He started his Colorado Avalanche career by always being the first player on AND off the ice at practices, and that hasn’t changed on bit. He still does it to this day. Ryan O’Reilly still puts forth maximum effort whenever and wherever he can, and players like him are very rare indeed. He is a gamer, and most of all, a keeper.