Sabres sign Ryan O'Reilly to 7-year contract extension worth reported $52.5M
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The Buffalo Sabres have locked up their new star center.
Ryan O'Reilly has signed a seven-year contract extension worth a reported $52.5 million and featuring a rather odd payment structure.
ROR contract very interesting. Salary is $1M per year. Rest is signing bonus: 10, 8, 7.5, 5, 5, 5 and 5.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 3, 2015
The bonuses still count against the salary cap, but the contract is now essentially unable to be bought out, and will protect O'Reilly from putting money in escrow.
The talented, two-way center was acquired in a draft-day deal with the Colorado Avalanche that saw defenseman Nikita Zadorov, forwards Mikhail Grigorenko and J.T. Compher, and the 31st overall pick (Jeremy Roy) head the other way.
“We’re happy to have Ryan locked up to a long-term deal," Sabres general manager Tim Murray said. "It’s not easy to find a player who, at his age, is already established in the league as someone who plays a complete game and makes his teammates better.
"When we acquired him, we viewed him as someone who could immediately improve our roster but was still young enough to make an impact for several years to come, and this contract reflects that belief.”
O'Reilly, 24, has averaged 0.58 points per game through the first six seasons of his career, recording a career-high 28 goals and 64 points in 2013-14.
He led the Avalanche in ice time among forwards over the past two seasons, and posted a faceoff success rate of 53.4 in 2014-15, good for 20th in the NHL.
O'Reilly, along with Jack Eichel and Evander Kane, will serve as a foundational piece of the Sabres' core as the club attempts to climb out of the league's basement.