On one hand, Buffalo Sabres winger Samson Reinhart has proven himself to be a reliable offensive player in his first three seasons in the NHL.
Reinhart has become a power play specialist. In 249 career games in Buffalo, Reinhart has scored 65 goals and 75 assists, of which 29 are PPG and 48 PPA.
Translation: 77 of Reinhart’s 140 points in the NHL have been scored on the man advantage.
On the other hand, Reinhart has proven himself to be an inconsistent performer who has more to give.
Reinhart totaled 37 points (18G,19A) in his final 38 games of the 2017-18 season. Reinhart scored 20 goals in 43 games in calendar year 2018 tying him for 12th-most in the NHL from January 1 until the end of the regular season.
Will the real Samson Reinhart please stand up!
Reinhart has missed the first week of Sabres training camp. He is not a hold out. Reinhart is a coat contrilled player who chose not to accept Jason Botterill’s qualifying offer. Reinhart feels he’s worth more than the offer Botterill tendered earlier this summer. Botterill thinks otherwise.
Reinhart has zero leverage in his contract stalemate.
Reinhart has already missed oodles if physical and mental repsi. Practices. He has also missed a. Blue & Gold scrimmage is two exhibition games.
As Reinhart sits on his couch and watches his teammates perform in the most intense, high pace Sabres training camp in recent memory, other wingers are taking his time on ice.
The Sabres will take a 2-0 record into this weekend’s home and home brawls against the hated Toronto Maple Leafs.
If Reinhart wants to play for the Sabres this season, he is going to have to accept a two year bridge contract. The team holds his rights and have the upper hand.
Reinhart is not Jack Eichel. In other words, he is not the star of the show nor the face of the franchise in Buffalo. Reinhart is a great supporting actor but he is not a leading man. Therefore, Eichel was rewarded with a mega eight year, $80 million contract coming out of his entry level deal while Reinhart will be signing a two year “show me” contract.
Bob McKenzie says that the Sabres and Reinhart have made “considerable progress” towards a two-year bridge deal.
Elliotte Friedman says Reinhart’s AAV will be $3.65M per season, which is far less than the $5.75M to $6M AAV that he has been seeking from the Sabres.
Frankly, I am shocked at the annual average value that Reinhart is setting for.
I saw a $5.5M AAV for Reinhart, similar to J.T. Miller and Jason Zucker.
Reinhart is betting on himself to produce more even strength and PP offense. At age 25, Reinhart will be in a great position to hold Botterill and the sabres to a higher standard on his next contract. In other words, if and when Reinhart scores 65-75 points this season and next, he will be able to give Botterill a higher demand and expect it.
In the past four days, theee unsigned RFAs have signed bridge contracts when they were seeking long term contracts. Darnell it’s and Josh Morrissey signed two year bridge deals when each wanted multi-year contracts. Now Reinhart settles for a bridge deal. NHL GMs are not handing out fat contracts like Halloween candy.
Reinhart has a lot of catching up to do. He needs to hit the ice with verve and tenacity and get himself in the best physical shape he possibly can. Were I Samson,I would be playing the next two seasons with a serious Chopin my shoulder.
“Show you?!”
You got it!
“I’ll show you!!!”
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