DENVER - No, Calgary Flames GM Jay Feaster did not arrive Thursday at Pepsi Center with tough guy Brian McGrattan by his side for protection.
He didn't leave with a new first-line centre, either.
The Flames signed restricted free agent Ryan O'Reilly, embroiled in a contract dispute with the Colorado Avalanche, to a two-year, US$10-million offer sheet just hours before Thursday's Northwest Division showdown in the Mile High City, but the intrigue didn't last long.
Even before the first intermission, about four hours into a seven-day window to ponder their options, the Avalanche matched the offer.
