Buffalo Sabres: Making sense of Sam Reinhart’s contract situation

Sam Reinhart has improved every season he has played in the NHL and yet, the Buffalo Sabres may only offer him a bridge deal rather than a long-term contract.

Sam Reinhart could be forgiven for sometimes wondering what more he has to do to prove himself to the Buffalo Sabres. Every season since entering the NHL, he’s seen his production increase.

This past season, Rienhart set career highs for goals (25) and overall points (50). He was particularly effective during the second half of the 2017-18 campaign, with 37 points in the final 38 games.

In a season which saw the Sabres finish bottom of the NHL standings for the third time in five years, the 22-year-old was a rare bright spot. And yet, his future still remains unresolved.

As Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News recently wrote, the Sabres apparent preference at this stage, is to offer Reinhart a two-year bridge deal. And yet, as recently as mid-July, it was suggested Buffalo was eager to agree a long-term contract.

Really, what this tells us is that nobody, whether it be the media, the team or the player himself, know how the contract talks will pan out at this stage. Even as training camp slowly approaches, however, it seems everyone is prepared to be patient and play the waiting game.

As per The Athletic‘s Joe Yerdon, general manager Jason Botterill said there are still arbitration cases to be heard. Botterill did make a point of adding that he’s excited to get Reinhart back in, and it does seem like the relationship between the two sides is amicable.

From Yerdon’s perspective, he reads that as meaning Reinhart’s camp want to see where everything falls with other players. And if this is the strategy, it already seems to be working in their favor.

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Consider the recent case of Elias Lindholm, who received a six-year, $29.1 million contract from the Calgary Flames. In addition, Jason Zucker recently agreed a five-year, $27.5 million deal with the Minnesota Wild.

So why are we mentioning these two contracts? Because Reinhart has a better career points-per-game average compared to Lindholm and Zucker, who will now earn $4.85 million and $5.5 million per year respectively.

At some point, Reinhart being a second overall draft pick has to stop being held against him. Yes, his talent level did not theoretically ‘deserve’ being selected so high, but it’s not his fault what the available talent was in 2014.

Regardless, the North Vancouver, British Columbia native is still developing nicely. He is a skilled, durable and versatile two-way talent, with good upside.

The fact Reinhart plats extremely well alongside Jack Eichel also has to be taken into account. Yes, you can argue that most players would look good next to Eichel, but the two players do have an excellent chemistry.

Taking everything into account, if the Buffalo Sabres are smart, they will get Reinhart signed to a multi-year contract this summer. To go down the bridge deal route would only mean they will likely have to pay even more money in two years, to keep him around for the long-term.

What would you do if you were in the Buffalo Sabres’ position? Negotiate a long-term deal with Reinhart, or offer him a bridge contract? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.