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Didn't want to do a game day post but here is the latest:
Zach Redmond was cut by a skate above the knee today at PNC during game day skate. Lots of blood on the ice "filled up crease" according to one report, Redmond is having surgery to repair the damage. He'll be out for a bit but Noel said he was coherent and fine before leaving the rink.
Apparently Redmond does where cut resistant socks.
Skinner is out with a concussion and the 'Canes have recalled, on an emergency basis, Ryan Murphy from Kitchener to play.
Clitsome slots in for Redmond
The Jets have to take advantage a 'Canes defense missing Gleason, Mcbain and Pitkanen and using an OHL rookie on emergency basis. Some run and gun hockey would be good start to stretch out D and pound it with a relentless fore check.
Ken Wiebe and Ed Tait are in Carolina so I suggest looking at their twitter feeds for all updates on Redmond and the roster.
Now... back to ROR
First and foremost, Adrian Dater has been all over this situation and if you read his work it should give you a clear picture of the stakes involved for each side. In a nutshell the argument breaks down to this:
Has ROR shown he is worth the big money, believed to be around 5 million per, after one solid season? If the Avs do not believe that why do they want such a big return?
Here's what we know right now.
1. The relationship between ROR and the Avs is now tempestuous at best
2. The Avs have shown huge patience in their desire to sign or trade ROR
3. Teams are unsure of what the price is- Dater reports a roster player and a 'top prospect'
4. No one knows exactly what the salaries are and where he would sign
Here's the thing about O'Reilly he played the second hardest minutes on the Avalanche
last season. Thanks to the guys at
Arctic Ice hockey and
behind the net. He is 205lbs and six feet tall and would immediately make him the second biggest centre on the Jets roster after Jokinen.
Jokinen is currently listed as the 3rd line centre on the team, and people thought Mike Gillis was nuts for giving 2.5 million for Malhotra! Aside from the salary Jokinen was never going to be a long term fix for Winnipeg as he is signed for two years. Speculation would conclude that Jets management sees Scheifele pushing into the line up by the time the 14-15 season begins.
Would a forward core of Kane, Burmistrov, Ladd, Little, Scheifele, and O'Reilly be so bad?
If you are quick you probably noted one omission, Blake Wheeler. Here is where the rubber hits the road and I think Wheeler should be dangled as part of any deal for O'Reilly. The Jets gain five years of youth with ROR over Wheeler. They also get to pay for his UFA years earlier should they decide to ink him to a deal like Kane's. However I look at the Wheeler situation like this:
Wheeler, Little and Burmistrov are all RFA players after this season and I'm not so sure the Jets can, or want to keep them all. However, throwing a two-way 22 year old centre in place of one of those RFAs changes how you address other needs.
The other option is to keep Wheeler and dangle either Little or Burmistrov as your roster player. The reasoning for this move is that without Wheeler the right side for the Jets is woefully thin. Centres need players to feed the puck too and Wheeler can put the puck in the net and he's a pretty good passer too. ROR can score goals as well and combined with a bigger body like Wheeler, 6'5" 205 lbs, could form a dynamic power trio with either Kane or Ladd on the left side.
So it begs the question who can the Jets afford to give up more, Wheeler or Little or Burmistrov? It appears that the risk is about the upside of Little or Burmistrov and who has the higher ceiling.
The Jets should be in the Ryan O'Reilly game but this game involves the all to cliché phrase, 'you have to give to get'. Little's possession numbers are better than both Wheeler's and Burmistrov's. However it depends what the Avs need and if it's goal scoring Little is still more suited to that need than Wheeler.
It would make little sense for the Jets to move their top line centre and hope to replace him with the player ROR believes he already is.
It's probably why Chevy would start with Burmistrov and see where the conversation went. At least that's where I would start.
So what does it take and what would you offer to get Ryan O'Reilly in a Winnipeg Jets jersey?
Winnipeg Jets Blogger •Winnipeg Jets Writer • 
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