‘All told, it’s a solid haul in exchange for O’Reilly. Botterill could have taken it over the top had he convinced the Blues to include Thomas, Kyrou or Kostin, but the three were evidently the non-starters Armstrong referenced when he said talks fell apart early Sunday before the sides agrees to “add and subtract some pieces that made everyone comfortable in the end.” The Sabres also were faced with the midnight deadline to pay O’Reilly a $7.5 million bonus. They could have eaten the money and continued to ask for a king’s ransom, but there’s no telling what the market might have looked like later this summer or at next season’s deadline.’