Today, Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin agreed to terms with forward Max Domi on a two-year contract (2018-19 to 2019-20).
The deal has an average annual value of $3.15M AAV for the Canadiens, who acquired Domi from the Arizona Coyotes on Friday night in exchange for winger Alex Galchenyuk.
Frankly, I'm shocked about the term and dollars.
I thought for sure Domi would get a four-year contract extension with a $4M AAV.
Domi, 23, was Arizona's first-round pick (12th overall) at the 2013 Draft.
In 2017-18, Domi scored 45 points (9G, 36A) in 82 games played.
In his three year NHL career in Arizona, Domi scored 36 goals and 135 assists in 222 NHL games. His best offensive season was his rookie season of 2014-15 when he scored 18 goals and 34 assists.
Domi's value to his team comes at even strength. He's a 5v5 scorer. He has his struggles on the power play.
Domi scored 1 PP goal and 9 PP points last season.
In his three year career in Arizona, Domi has scored 5 PPG and 32 PPP.
The Domi two-year bridge contract will now be the comparable that Buffalo Sabres GM Jason Botterill will be using in his negotiations with his restricted free agent forward Samson Reinhart.
The second overall pick in 2014, Reinhart has scored 65 goals and added 75 assists for 140 points in 249 career games during his three year tenure in Buffalo.
In 2017-18, Reinhart achieved career highs in goals scored (25) and points (50).
Reinhart has been a consistent scorer at even strength and on the power play.
Reinhart scored a career 12 power play goals last season and has 29 PPG in his career. Reinhart has 48 PP points in his career.
Reinhart was drafted as a center, however, has been used exclusively as a winger in his time in Buffalo. Phil Housley played a hunch and placed Reinhart at the net front forward position last season and it paid dividends for Reinhart.
Whether he likes it or not, and he won't like it at all, Domi's new two-year bridge deal will be used as a comp in the Reinhart contract talks with the Sabres. Reinhart and his agent are looking for a long term contract at fair market value.
What is fair market value for Reinhart?
Well, Reinhart will not be earning a 7-year, $49 million ($7M AAV) contract like his former Buffalo linemate Evander Kane signed last month in San Jose.
Reinhart's camp will be looking for the six year, $36 million contract that Nashville paid Kyle Turris, 30, to stay long term with the Predators..
Pittsburgh signed forward Patrik Hornqvist. Hornqvist, 31, signed for five years and $26.5 million, which is an average annual value of $5.3 million.
Columbus paid forward Cam Atkinson 7 years and $41,125,000 to stay long term at a $5,875,000 annual average value.
Also in February, the NY Islanders extended veteran forward Josh Bailey, 28, for 6 years and $30 million. Bailey's AAV is $5M.
Stanley Cup champions the Washington Capitals signed forward Lars Eller to a five year, $17.5 million contract extension. His $3.5 AAV will also be a comp that will be applied to Reinhart.
At what cost Reinhart?
Since the middle of the 2017-18 season, I have had the sneaking suspicion that Botterill isn't sold on Reinhart as a long term, core player in Buffalo. Last summer, Botterill told Reinhert to "show me". Reinhart repsnded by struggling to score goals from October until Christmas time. Then, Reinhart scored 37 points (18G,19A) in his final 38 games of the season. His 20 goals in 43 games in 2018 tied him for 12th-most in the NHL from January 1 until the end of the season.
The glass half full group says
"Great job, Samson. Way to kill it in the second half of the season".
The glass half empty people say
"Where were you for the first 95 days of the season? Why did you disappear and then turn on the jets for the final four months?"
The Sabres finished the 2017-18 season with three 50-point players (Eichel/O’Reilly/Reinhart) for the first time since the 2011-12 season (Pominville/Vanek/Stafford).
Jack Eichel (21 years old) and Samson Reinhart (22 years old) became the first pair of 25-goal scorers under 23 years of age for the Sabres since Alexander Mogilny and Donald Audette each topped 25 as 22-year-olds in the 1991-92 season
Although he scored 25 goals and 25 assist last season, Botterill and Housley were looking for more consistency from the young forward. Reinhart's struggles were well documented in October, November and December. His play improved dramatically when he was paired with center Ryan O'Reilly from New Year's Day 2018 Winter Classic game versus NY Rangers onward.
The Sabres finished 31st overall in the NHL standings. They won the NHL Draft Lottery and will select defenseman rock star Rasmus Dahlin with the first overall pick at the NHL Draft in Dallas on Friday night.
I spoke with Reinhart in April and he told me he was disappointed that he could not participate for Team Canada at the IIHF World Championships in Denmark. The reason? No contract extension. He told me he was hoping there was a deal struck between his agent and Botterill that would have allowed his to play for Team Canada. No such contract extension materilaized. Thus, Reinhart is left to sit and ponder what his future is with the Sabres. My gut feeling tells me Botterill will hold firm to a two or three year bridge deal in the Domi ($3.15 AAV) and Eller ($3.5 AAV) stratospheres.
Will Reinhart accept such a contract extension and continue to play "show me" with Botterill and Houlsey? If the answer is a hard "NO", the Sabres may be trading Reinhart this week at the NHL Draft for a scoring winger to play with Jack Eichel. I know of several teams that continue to show interest in Reinhart. He has high resale value due to his age and his unique pacvkage of skills. Reinhart can also be included in a blockbusuter hockey trade that Botterill may pursue to change the energy in Houlsey's locker room.
Those teams with interest in Reinhart include Vancouver, Calgary, Carolina, Los Angeles, and Florida.
Reinhart was born in Vancouver and was a scoring star for his junior team, the Kootenay Ice.
Vancouver are looking for a scoring top six center/winger and Reinhart fits that bill to a tee. The Sabres could avail themselves of a package of assets from the Canucks including defenseman Chris Tanev and winger prospect and goalie prospect Thatcher Demko.
Calgary has a treasure trove of young defenseman but a lack of scoring forwards, however lack a first and second round pick in next weekend's NHL Draft. Botterill could parlay Reinhart and his 32nd overall pick in the 2018 draft into a veteran right D Dougie Hamilton and pending RFA forward Sam Bennett. The emergence young defensive prospects Rasmus Andersson, Juuso Välimäki, Oliver Kylington, and Adam Fox (Harvard, Team USA WJC) has made Hamilton dispensable in Calgary. Hamilton is a tremendous D-man who at age 25 hasn't even reach his career prime. Hamilton scored 17G, 27A in 64 games last season.
Reinhart's father, Paul, played many years with the Flames.
Hurricanes braintrust Rick Dudley and Don Waddell are looking to add a veteran scoring top six forward to their group. Reinhart fits the bill. Like the Sabres, the Canes are trying with all their might to climb out of the Eastern Conference basement and into a playoff spot, not just in 2018-19 but for years to come. The Canes need to change their energy and have several key pieces to trade. Waddell may be looking to add Reinhart and right D Rasmus Ristolainen in exchange for defenseman Noah Hanifin and scoring winger Teuvo Teräväinen. Hanifin and Teräväinen are both restricted free agents and will be needing new contract extensions. The Hurricanes own the second overall pick in the NHL Draft behind Buffalo and will be adding hulking Russian scoring machine Andrei Svechnikov.
If the LA Kings want to trade for Reinhart it will likely cost them veteran winger Tyler Toffoli.
The Panthers have center/winger Nick Bjugstad to trade to Buffalo in exchange for Samson Reinhart.
At his season ending presser, Jason Botterill promised major changes to the Buffalo roster moving forward. Botterill is accepting inbound calls and text inquiries from his NHL GM counterparts for players on the Buffalo roster.
The names of Reinhart, Ristolainen and Ryan O'Reilly are among those on the lips of GMs of other teams. Because Reinhart and O'Reilly share the sames agent (with Robin Lehner), teams call Botterill about one player and then ask about the others. For example: Flames GM Brad Treliving calls Botterill to ask about O'Reilly. Botterill says's ROR is not available, however, I have Reinhart who would help Flames PP and 5v5 scoring dramatically.
Another team to keep an eye on is the MOntreal Canadiens, who are looking to add as much scoring as possible to their top six forward group. On Friday they traded Galchenyuk away for Domi, who once played on a line with Reinhart. At the 2015 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships in Toronto, the line of Domi-Reinhart-Duclair powered the Canadians to the gold medal victory. Reinhart scored 5G, 6A, Domi popped for 5G,5A and Duclair scored 4G, 4A. Scoring 29 points points in seven games is fantastic production for a trio at any level of hockey. What makes it most special is that Reinhart and Domi found success against the best U20 players in the world. Domi and Reinhart have a great chemistry playing together internationally for Canada.
Why not reunite Domi with Reinhart in Montreal?
The Habs would have to trade Buffalo one of its top D prspects in Victor Mete or Noah Juulsen. If Botterill really wants to spice it up, he can add right shot D Rasmus Ristolainen in a deal with Reinhart. But that would mean that Marc Bergevin would have to part with his third overall pick, plus, either Mete or Juulsen. Ristolainen is big, tough, highly skilled and might be in need of a new opportunity. All he has ever known is losing in Buffalo’s tank seasons. Has all the losing taken it’s toll on the young man? Ristolainen munches 28 minutes TOI per game and plays in all situations. He would add immediate value to Montreal’s top three D group. Ristolainen is cost controlled at $5.4M AAV for the next four seasons.
Buffalo then would have numbers 1 and 3 in the NHL draft with which they would select Rasmus Dahlin and either Filip Zadina or Brady Tkachuk.
Cha-Ching!
Both the Habs and Sabres would improve dramatically with one blockbuster trade.
It will surely be a most interesting week for Samson Reinhart.
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