Ryan O'Reilly said he felt "much better" after playing roughly 18 minutes in his second game back with the Colorado Avalanche. O'Reilly played a little over two minutes more than in his season debut Sunday and admitted after the game that he's getting close to his old form. Coach Joe Sacco agreed that O'Reilly is starting to show signs. "I thought it was a step in the right direction, no question. I think he has more to give, and he will," Sacco said. O'Reilly has been skating on the third line, which heavily negates his value. However, if he moves up to playing top six minutes, O'Reilly is definitely worth owning in most formats.

Ryan O'Reilly will play against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday. It will be his first game since holding out as a restricted free agent and then signing an offer sheet with the Calgary Flames. As a fun side note, it's reportedly possible that the Calgary Flames would have been forced to expose O'Reilly to waivers if Colorado allowed him to leave via the offer sheet. Had that happened, O'Reilly might have ended up as a member of the Blue Jackets. It's also worth noting that O'Reilly is projected to play on the third line based on Saturday's practice, so temper your expectations.

Ryan O'Reilly skated on the Colorado Avalanche's third line during Saturday's practice. O'Reilly's linemates were John Mitchell and Milan Hejduk. It will be interesting to see if Colorado is just easing him into the lineup or if they actually see him as a third liner. Given that he'll make $6.5 million in 2013-14, it's almost certainly the prior, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he'll move up to one of the top two lines in the near future. After all, he has missed almost half the season.

Ryan O'Reilly said getting his current contract made it "worth it to wait this long." O'Reilly will receive a $2.5 million signing bonus and $1 million in base salary for 2013. He will then earn $6.5 million in 2013-14 before once again becoming a restricted free agent. "It was a big number," O'Reilly said. "I didn't really expect that. But it's great." It's interesting that he didn't really expect that, because reports throughout this process suggest that he ended up with basically what he was holding out for. Regardless, next season will be vital for him. He fought for this contract on the basis that his 55-point 2011-12 campaign was more of a starting point than a fluke. If he expects to land another big contract after this one, then he can't afford to regress. All the same, in the short term, that might be what happened, especially seeing as he's joining players in mid-season form when he hasn't played in an NHL game in almost a year.

Calgary general manager Jay Feaster made an ill-advised decision to sign restricted free-agent winger Ryan O'Reilly to a two-year, $10-million offer sheet Thursday, the Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch writes. Feaster's offer was matched quickly by Colorado. Across the NHL, league executives are rolling their eyes, Garrioch claims, wondering what Feaster was thinking. Avs GM Greg Sherman isn't beyond reproach either, but thanks to the Flames he gets one of his top players back at an inflated price. "Calgary should have known (the Avs) were going to match it no matter what," Garrioch quotes a league insider as saying. "By doing this, what they've done is given a division rival one of their best players back instead of having that guy traded elsewhere.The Flames have given the Avs a top-six forward and the ammo that could knock Calgary out of a playoff race. This could really end badly for the Flames." To make matters worse, Sportsnet reported because O'Reilly played two games in the KHL during the lockout, he would have had to clear waivers to report to Calgary. There isn't a chance that he would have gotten through untouched. Colorado could've claimed him.

Ryan O'Reilly has passed his medical. O'Reilly will practice with the Avalanche on Saturday for the first time since holding out for more money as a restricted free agent and then signing an offer sheet with the Calgary Flames. Given how long he's gone without playing an NHL game and the fact that he's missed roughly 40% of the season, it will be interesting to see if the Avalanche attempt to ease him into the lineup or make him a healthy scratch for several games while he gets back up to speed.

Ryan O'Reilly apologized for the lengthy contract saga. O'Reilly's time as a restricted free agent holdout finally ended on Thursday with the Colorado Avalanche matching the Calgary Flames' offer sheet. "Sorry to everyone about the situation," O'Reilly said. "I'm very glad to say that it is over and i now can focus on what I love to do." We can't recommend grabbing him in standard leagues at this time. It's been nearly a year since his last NHL game and on top of that, it's not like he was a huge contributor from a fantasy perspective in the first place. In 2013-14, he might be an interesting sleeper, but for now, stay away from him.

Calgary Flames GM Jay Feaster attempted to acquired Ryan O'Reilly via a trade before his failed attempt to acquire him via an offer sheet. The Colorado Avalanche ultimately matched Calgary's offer for O'Reilly. "We attempted today to improve our hockey team," said Feaster. "We think Ryan O'Reilly is a franchise player. We had trade discussions with Colorado but at the end of the day felt the price to acquire the player was too steep and was something would negatively impact our future." Calgary would have surrendered a first and third round pick if Colorado had declined to match the Flames offer. As it is, Colorado will pay O'Reilly a signing bonus of $2.5 million, plus another $1 million for the rest of the campaign. He will also earn $6.5 million in 2013-14 and has an average annual salary will be $5 million (keep in mind that O'Reilly is joining the 2012-13 campaign late and it's a shortened season as well).

According to numerous reports, the Avalanche have agreed to match the offer sheet signed by Ryan O'Reilly with the Flames. This is a somewhat surprising turn of events as the relationship between the two sides seemed to have become strained during O'Reilly's holdout, but Colorado acted swiftly to ensure the two-way center stays in the fold for at least two more seasons.

The Calgary Flames have filed an offer-sheet offer for Colorado restricted free agent Ryan O'Reilly. According to TSN's Darren Dreger the offer sheet carries an average annual value of $5 million for two seasons. He would make a $1 million base salary this year, with a $2.5 million signing bonus, and $6.5 million for next season.