The Buffalo Sabres now finally have the chance to start preparing for the season with their after signing forward Sam Reinhart to a two year deal worth $7.3 million on Wednesday. The restricted free agent and the Sabres’ lone offseason holdout reached the deal after missing out on the first five days of training camp as well as two preseason games.
The news of the signing comes in during the team’s day off and after Reinhart’s representatives were captured attending the Sabres 3-2 victory against the team Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday. Reinhart has spent most of his time working out in Buffalo last month, which also includes being a part of informal skates along with his fellow mates. It took so long to reach a deal partly due to Reinhart’s inconsistent production in his three-plus NHL seasons since the time Sabres acquired him with the number 2 pick in the NHL draft of 2014.
His inconsistencies were quite apparent in the previous year when Reinhart has managed to score seven goals as well as six assists in his initial 44 games. He closed the last season by 18 goals and 19 assists in the final 38 games and completed with 25 goals and 50 points, which is his career-best score. If seen overall, Reinhart, 22, has scored 65 goals and 140 points in 249 career games.
He can play both in the wing as well as the center. He has been projected as a player who can fill the role on one of the two top lines of Buffalo’s roster which has gone through a major overhaul this summer. The alterations come in just after Sabres completed at the last position in the standings for the third time in 5 years. The Sabres will be returning to practice on Thursday and will play a preseason game at Toronto on Friday before the team hosts the Maple Leafs the following night.
