Ryan O’Reilly either has an inflated view of his worth, or his agent has been spending too much time in the sun. Either way it seems O’Reilly’s time in Colorado is over. The Ryan O’Reilly rumors have been around for what seems like years, but now with the news that O’Reilly is seeking a NHL max contact of $60 million the Avs may help him pack his gear, and drop him off at the airport.

With new contract talks in ballpark of 60M for max contract to resign Ryan O’Reilly, #Avs feel like they have no choice but to trade him. — Nick Kypreos (@RealKyper) June 25, 2015

The max contract would carry an eight -year term and a cap hit of $7.5 million; an increase of $1.5 million per season over his current expiring contract. The Avs are currently

Over O’Reilly’s six year career in Colorado he has registered more than 50 points three times (2011-202, 2013-2014, 204-2015). The 24-year-old still has upside, and has just started to reach his prime. With that being said an eight year deal at $7.5m a year is too high. One issue for the Avalanche is they signed him to a $6.0 million a year deal, and now have no room to play with. One thing O’Reilly needs to understand is his salary demand has no comparison. The cost is just too high for the amount of return the Avs are seeing.

Matt Duchene, in contrast, has a cap hit of $6 million. Paul Stastny left Colorado last summer for St. Louis, where he signed a four-year deal with a cap hit of $7 million. [Pro Hockey Talk]

It’s not a salary cap issue for the Avs as they have an estimated $13.4m to the ceiling and about $5.4 m to the floor, but rolling out a max deal when the franchise still is a few years away from contending is not great business. There will be teams willing to kick around the idea of trading for Ryan O’Reilly, but he may have knocked a few possible deals off the table. At this rate if O’Reilly is not moved by Friday night he will most likely become nothing more than another “star” trade deadline dump. The only way I see a trade getting done is if O’Reilly has a deal in place before he packs his bags, but this is the NHL; so it’s anyone guess.