UPDATE: Sam Reinhart signs 2-year extension -- $3.65MM per year

[Randall Flagg]

I think one of the biggest leaps this team can make is finding someone that fits Sam like Jeff has Jack, so they can bring each other up, rather than using Sam to salvage otherwise-unplayable players, which he still can do. That's not getting the most out of Sam though. 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

It is very possible (likely?) that this 2 year bridge will come back to bite the Sabres.

[GASabresIUFAN]

33 minutes ago, dudacek said:

In typical Sabrespace fashion, people were quick to pipe up when Reinhart was dropped from the Eichel line in the third period against Minny in favour of Pominville and we ended up coming back to win. But we didn’t hear a peep when the same thing happened last night when Pommers was dropped for Sam.

I also find it interesting that in the Evan Rodrigues versus Tage Thompson debate, no one has pointed out that every time either one of those guys has performed his best is when he was on a line with Sam.

A while back people were questioning Sam’s contributions outside of scoring. When I pointed out he was a team leader in exits and entries and shot and chance creation the conversation stopped, but the criticism didn’t.

I’ve seen definitive declarations that he can’t skate when he is the best on the team at chipping it by a defenceman and retrieving the puck on the forecheck, that he’s too passive when he is second to Jack in protecting the puck along the boards then making a play with it. And that he can’t play defence.

Here’s another interesting stat. During the streak, Sam has been on the ice for just three goals against, second best on the team. Coupled with his 12 goals for - 4th on the team - he has a team-best differential of +9 (includes special teams). This comes with a lot of ice time and despite often playing with your two favourite whipping boys, Thompson and Sobotka.

He’s also put up 11 points in his past 10 games.

He’s the third-best forward on a team at the top of the league, left to carry the roster spare parts. And he makes them better.

Yet his contributions largely go unappreciated. It’s frustrating.

Every team has an unsung here and Reinhart is ours.  He works hard, plays the right way, but because he isn't flashy he doesn't get the headlines.  However, PH, Jack, and Skinner know his value.  Jbot asked him to prove that last season's 2nd half wasn't just a fluke.  Sam, after a tough Oct (for the 3rd season in a row), is showing that he is the player we saw last year in the second half.  

I was going to Sam's point totals in recent weeks as well and you beat me to it.

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

In typical Sabrespace fashion, people were quick to pipe up when Reinhart was dropped from the Eichel line in the third period against Minny in favour of Pominville and we ended up coming back to win. But we didn’t hear a peep when the same thing happened last night when Pommers was dropped for Sam.

I also find it interesting that in the Evan Rodrigues versus Tage Thompson debate, no one has pointed out that every time either one of those guys has performed his best is when he was on a line with Sam.

A while back people were questioning Sam’s contributions outside of scoring. When I pointed out he was a team leader in exits and entries and shot and chance creation the conversation stopped, but the criticism didn’t.

I’ve seen definitive declarations that he can’t skate when he is the best on the team at chipping it by a defenceman and retrieving the puck on the forecheck, that he’s too passive when he is second to Jack in protecting the puck along the boards then making a play with it. And that he can’t play defence.

Here’s another interesting stat. During the streak, Sam has been on the ice for just three goals against, second best on the team. Coupled with his 12 goals for - 4th on the team - he has a team-best differential of +9 (includes special teams). This comes with a lot of ice time and despite often playing with your two favourite whipping boys, Thompson and Sobotka.

He’s also put up 11 points in his past 10 games.

He’s the third-best forward on a team at the top of the league, left to carry the roster spare parts. And he makes them better.

Yet his contributions largely go unappreciated. It’s frustrating.

I was with you with Reinhart. 

[nfreeman]

I have been pretty pleased with TT-Sobotka-Reino in the past couple of games.  I think it has emerged as a nice 2ndary scoring line that creates a good number of chances, and Reino deserves much of the credit for that.

I like the way Howie keeps Reino as a "break glass in case of emergency" option for juicing Eichel's line when needed.

I do not agree that Reino is the best on the team, or even among the best, at the chip-and-retrieve.

I think he's quite good on entries and solid but not outstanding on exits (that Athletic piece was based on a pretty limited sample size).

I think the GF/GA metric is pretty much irrelevant for a guy who plays on PP1 but doesn't kill penalties.  OTOH, I think TT-Sobotka-Reino is better in the D zone than Eichel's line (although, to be fair, Eichel's line usually is playing against stronger opposition than Reino's line).

I think we can pretend all we want that Reino isn't a lousy skater, or that whatever skating deficiencies he has don't matter, but I think he is, and they do.  There is simply no comparison between his ability to get quickly from the slot to the corner to battle for pucks as opposed to guys like Skinner and Sheary (and for that matter KO and TT).  It is a testament to Reino's talents that he can still be an effective NHL player despite his skating.

I think before we start agitating to give Reino a fat contract, it's important to remember that he has 3 goals in 23 games this year, and 11 ES pts in 23 games.  It's also important to consider that if the Sabres keep Skinner, there isn't going to be much cap room left, and some tough decisions will lie ahead.   

[Tondas]

25 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

II think before we start agitating to give Reino a fat contract, it's important to remember that he has 3 goals in 23 games this year, and 11 ES pts in 23 games.  It's also important to consider that if the Sabres keep Skinner, there isn't going to be much cap room left, and some tough decisions will lie ahead.   

Agree.  JBOT is a chess player.  The best chess players think 10+ moves ahead.  I believe that JBOT is at least 5 years ahead in his thinking about personnel and cap management.  And moves he's made or will make might seem strange to us at first because we may be looking at today while JBOT is looking 3 years out.  I trust him.  He's probably already building the Sabres 2021-2022.

Edited November 24, 2018 by Tondas

[dudacek]

In case anyone is still wondering, in real life Freeman is Sam’s jealous older brother Griffin.

 

I, of course, am his mom.

[LGR4GM]

2 hours ago, nfreeman said:

 think we can pretend all we want that Reino isn't a lousy skater, or that whatever skating deficiencies he has don't matter, but I think he is, and they do.  There is simply no comparison between his ability to get quickly from the slot to the corner to battle for pucks as opposed to guys like Skinner and Sheary (and for that matter KO and TT).  It is a testament to Reino's talents that he can still be an effective NHL player despite his skating.

You're wrong. Period. Saying this is just so inaccurate and based on nothing but  bias. This gets -5 because it's one of the worst takes in the this thread.

His skating is average and you're upset it's not flashy or great. 

Edited November 24, 2018 by LGR4GM

[mjd1001]

18 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

You're wrong. Period. Saying this is just so inaccurate and based on nothing but  bias. This gets -5 because it's one of the worst takes in the this thread.

His skating is average and you're upset it's not flashy or great. 

I'll be one to disagree with you and agree with the other poster.  If Sam skated in a race and he was timed would he be average? Maybe.  But to me he is below average because what I see with my eyes. I rarely if ever see him carry the puck with enough speed that he gets by defensive players unless they are VERY out of position.  When he is standing still on the boards and starts skating away, his acceleration is glacial (once again, what I see with my eyes, not by any measured metrics).   When I actually watch him, I don't see a good skater.

[nfreeman]

MJD -- obviously, you must be "biased"!

(Which I think means "having an opinion that differs from mine.")

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, mjd1001 said:

I'll be one to disagree with you and agree with the other poster.  If Sam skated in a race and he was timed would he be average? Maybe.  But to me he is below average because what I see with my eyes. I rarely if ever see him carry the puck with enough speed that he gets by defensive players unless they are VERY out of position.  When he is standing still on the boards and starts skating away, his acceleration is glacial (once again, what I see with my eyes, not by any measured metrics).   When I actually watch him, I don't see a good skater.

No, you don't see a fast skater. There's more to skating then being fast in a straight line. 

1 hour ago, nfreeman said:

MJD -- obviously, you must be "biased"!

(Which I think means "having an opinion that differs from mine.")

No you claimed he was a lousy skater. That's simply wrong. 

[dudacek]

You know who is surprisingly not that blueline to blueline fast? Skinner.

He’s quick and insanely agile but I have yet to see him blow past anyone.

[Weave]

I think that Jason Pominville and Sam Reinhart have similar strengths and similar weaknesses in their skating.  Obviously, there are levels of strengths and weakness differences between the two, but I think they are more alike in what works well for them, and what doesn't work well for them.

And they are both very good about using their strengths to find opportunistic areas of the ice to exploit and that ability to be opportunistic does a pretty good job of protecting the areas where they are weak.  they position themselves well enough that lack of speed and acceleration isn't being taken advantage of.

And this is probably why they are able to be seamlessly switched in and out of Jack's line.

Just now, dudacek said:

You know who is surprisingly not that blueline to blueline fast? Skinner.

He’s quick and insanely agile but I have yet to see him blow past anyone.

The one thing I notice about Skinner is his cruising speed is 80%+ of his top speed.  He plays fast.

[Brawndo]

15 hours ago, dudacek said:

You know who is surprisingly not that blueline to blueline fast? Skinner.

He’s quick and insanely agile but I have yet to see him blow past anyone.

I think he waits until the defenseman commits then kicks it into high gear to move towards the net 

[dudacek]

Samson, that was a very nice goal you scored to win the game last night.

Dont let Griffin get to you.

Love, Mom.

[dudacek]

In today’s edition of things only Sam’s mom notices:

• Reinhart has just finished the most productive month of his NHL career with 5/10/15/+9 in 15 games.
• The second and third most productive were last March, with 14 in 14, and last February with 13 in 14.
• In the calendar year 2018, he is 47th in NHL scoring with 60 points in 71 games.
• Among the players he has outscored in 2018: Stamkos, Matthews, Monahan, Voracek, Connor, Hoffman, Stone, Tkachuk, Larkin, Trochek, Domi, Johansen, Forsberg, Skinner, Konecny, Toews, Gallagher, Lindholm, Drouin, Arvidsson, Horvat, Kadri, Tarasenko...

Edited December 3, 2018 by dudacek

[nfreeman]

Don't forget his new trick:  the "pitching wedge" goal from the slot!

[TrueBlueGED]

12 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

Don't forget his new trick:  the "pitching wedge" goal from the slot!

Jealous older brother who plays more golf than hockey proceeds to make golf metaphor. Well done.

[nfreeman]

I thought the first one of those pitching wedge goals was a lucky accident, but I kinda think he was trying to wedge the 2nd one in and it was a very nifty hand-eye move.

[Doohicksie]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

Among the players he has outscored in 2018: Stamkos, Matthews, Monahan, Voracek, Connor, Hoffman, Stone, Tkachuk, Larkin, Trochek, Domi, Johansen, Forsberg, Skinner, Konecny, Toews, Gallagher, Lindholm, Drouin, Arvidsson, Horvat, Kadri, Tarasenko...

Whoa!

[WildCard]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

In today’s edition of things only Sam’s mom notices:

• Among the players he has outscored in 2018: Stamkos, Matthews, Monahan, Voracek, Connor, Hoffman, Stone, Tkachuk, Larkin, Trochek, Domi, Johansen, Forsberg, Skinner, Konecny, Toews, Gallagher, Lindholm, Drouin, Arvidsson, Horvat, Kadri, Tarasenko...

Hmmmm I wonder why...

?

[Doohicksie]

50 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

it was a very nifty hand-eye move.

I've noticed a few players that play the puck well in 3 dimensions (swat it out of the air).  They include Jack, Jeff, Reino, and the grand champion RasD.  I would almost say Dahlin looks like he's played lacrosse.

Edited December 3, 2018 by Doohickie

[TrueBlueGED]

1 hour ago, WildCard said:

Hmmmm I wonder why...

?

Mom doesn't want to hear your rationality. 

[Thorner]

He's on pace for 68 points. That's 2nd overall worthy, certainly. 

[Hoss]

On 12/6/2018 at 9:38 PM, Thorny said:

He's on pace for 68 points. That's 2nd overall worthy, certainly. 

Debatable but glad to see it