Reinhart signed, 1 year, $5.2 Million

[Cal Naughton Jr]

48 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

 

Samson is listed as a Center here 

The plot thickens 

[Curt]

1 hour ago, Weave said:

This seems like the beginning of the end of Sams time in Buffalo.  Two sides in obvious disagreement regarding value agreeing to short contracts until it is time to move on.

This is possible, but not a certainty.  The financial state of everything, league wide and also Sabres specifically, is very up in the air.  Will they want Hall back next season?  How much will that cost?  How much will Dahlin’s contract cost?  Will there be attendance income?  Just a lot of questions.

Maybe Sam signs a long term deal next offseason, or maybe he gets traded.  Those are the two things that I see happening.  It wouldn’t make much sense to sign him to consecutive one year deals, then let him walk away.

Edited October 25, 2020 by Curt

[JohnC]

4 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

I generally agree with the exception of the Zemgus contract, which continues to be nuts.

Separately, I agree that this is a good deal for the Sabres.  Not that good for Reino, although not really bad either, and I can understand why Sam would prefer to avoid the arbitration process.  I think the door is very much open for a long-term contract next summer, but there are a lot of different scenarios in which that would not happen.  This certainly gives the Sabres flexibility to choose a Hall extension over a Reino extension.

 

I also thought that the Zemgus contract was a little high. But what it indicates to me is that Girgs is a player that Krueger valued and wanted to retain. He's and end to end gritty player that last year's team didn't have an abundance of. So although it was higher than I expected it's not a contract that I'm going to be upset with. 

I have a different take on the Hall vs Reinhart contract implications. I believe that Reinhart is identified as one of the core players and that an effort will be made to keep him for the long term. And I believe the best way to make Buffalo an attractive place for Hall to play is for the team to succeed and allow him to showcase his talents on a serious team. If Hall shines as a player and Reinhart shines as a player the contract challenges will be worked out. 

[Curt]

54 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

 

Samson is listed as a Center here 

That’s interesting, but it only says Center in the Tweet.  The actual linked story doesn’t say Center.  Maybe just a screw up by whoever wrote the tweet?

However, I’m down for Sam at C if Sam is down for it.

[Scottysabres]

Nothing has actually changed for myself in any event. I still suspect he gets moved.

[Curt]

Also something to consider.  What if the top line is Hall-Eichel-Reinhart?  What if it’s awesome and they put up points like 85-100-75?  Sam would be setting himself up to get PAID in that scenario.

Sam may also just want to see how things go.  Maybe he doesn’t want to stick around if they continue to suck.  We talk about the worry that Eichel might demand out due to losing, but he isn’t the only one.

[IKnowPhysics]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

I disagree. He got bridged because Botts wanted it and Reinhart bet on himself. Sam got unlucky that his contract is up now. So he takes a nice raise that's slightly team friendly for 1 year while teams adjust. Teams protected because he's still an RFA and Sam can bet on there being more money next year. 

If he wanted to, he could have tried for a 2 year deal and held out for arbitration. 

This.  100%.

If he didn't want to be a Sabre, he would have held out for a deal that took him right to UFA and didn't give the Sabres another chance at RFA.

Good deal for both parties.

[LGR4GM]

We're talking about a 3 time consecutive 20 goal scorer who was on pace to have back to back 60 point seasons. I would have to guess that a 25g, 35a right wing who defends well and elevates his linemates is worth more than what he just got. 5.2 is about 1.5 mil less than I thought he would get. 

[Taro T]

12 minutes ago, IKnowPhysics said:

This.  100%.

If he didn't want to be a Sabre, he would have held out for a deal that took him right to UFA and didn't give the Sabres another chance at RFA.

Good deal for both parties.

Well, except for the fact that he signed up for arbitration which meant that come the opening of the hearing he was locked into a 1 year deal.   He could hold his breath all he wanted for a 2 year deal, but the Sabres weren't going to let that happen if it ended up in the arbitrator's hands.

Agree that it's a good deal for both.  But still am disappointed Botterill couldn't get him into a LT deal. 

[dudacek]

Makes him the 181st-highest paid player in the NHL.

Sixth highest AAV of any free agent signed this year:

• Pietrangelo 8.8
• Hall 8
• Krug 6.5
• Markstrom 6
• Domi 5.3
• Reinhart 5.2
•  Burakovsky 4.9

Burakovsky, Domi and the still-unsigned Mantha were his peers in free agency. The first two would have been very likely comparables for the arbitrator.

[LGR4GM]

2 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Makes him the 181st-highest paid player in the NHL.

Sixth highest AAV of any free agent signed this year:

• Pietrangelo 8.8
• Hall 8
• Krug 6.5
• Markstrom 6
• Domi 5.3
• Reinhart 5.2
•  Burakovsky 4.9

Burakovsky, Domi and the still-unsigned Mantha were his peers in free agency. The first two would have been very likely comparables for the arbitrator.

Reinhart remains criminally underrated. 

[Pimlach]

Good move.  I want to win now.  Right now.  End this playoff drought.  Next off season will be interesting with Staahl, Hall and Sam to sign.  

 Now Let’s sign a Uhlmark and VO.    Then go get a goalie.   Do that and we should be competitive.  We were 1 game under .500 with a half blind goalie and no 2C.  

We have a Jack Eichel, a veteran 2C, an MVP LW,  improvements to the bottom 6, a potentially improving Dahlin - go get a goalie Kevyn.  

[That Aud Smell]

1 hour ago, JohnC said:

I also thought that the Zemgus contract was a little high. But what it indicates to me is that Girgs is a player that Krueger valued and wanted to retain. He's and end to end gritty player that last year's team didn't have an abundance of. So although it was higher than I expected it's not a contract that I'm going to be upset with. 

This is a good take on the Zemgus deal — it’s clear that Krueger really values him. We’re hitched to RaKru for the foreseeable future, so finger crossed that he’s right about the Latvian Locomotive.

[dudacek]

It’s likely the 2nd consecutive bargain contract Reinhart has given the Sabres, in terms of production per paycheque.

But he didn’t really have any leverage. If he goes to arbitration and they walk, there is no money left in free agency for a better deal elsewhere. There was also no guarantee he was going to get a better deal than this from an arbitration hearing either, given the Domi and Burakovsky contracts.

It’s not in the Sabres Interest to give him a 2-year deal that walks him to UFA.

And while I’m sure they would have loved to lock him up at a COVID discount on a long-term deal, they aren’t going to do that at a price that could jeopardize contract talks with Hall and Dahlin, or put them in a cap squeeze this year, with Ullmark and Olofsson still out there and the possibility of another move.

From Sam’s perspective, it’s pretty fair value on a one-year deal, and a one-year makes sense to him in the same way it did to Hall: pad the stats while playing with Jack, hope for a better economic situation next summer and give yourself a year to decide whether it’s a good long term fit in Buffalo (read the latter as “can the team win,” because I think Sam generally likes playing here and was starting to turn into a leader.)

I think we all expected him to sign a long-term deal based on a normal cap situation, and that would have been $6.5 million-ish. I personally thought if he didn’t sign long-term it meant he was headed out of Buffalo within two years. But that was before the ground rules changed.

This is definitely a COVID-19 contract.

Sam shows up for every game, produces, never complains and signs team-friendly deals. Haters need to re-think what they actually have here.

Edited October 25, 2020 by dudacek

[dudacek]

Related, this deal is another huge one in the plus column for Adams, IMO.

The contract is considerably lower than anyone on here thought Sam was going to get. They retain his rights with a $5.2 million offer next summer and the door remains wide open for an extension if this season and the coming Dahlin and Hall negotiations show that is the right path.

And it’s easily tradeable if it’s not.

Jason Botterill is not running this team any more.

Edited October 25, 2020 by dudacek

[3putt]

3 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Related, this deal is another huge one in the plus column for Adams, IMO.

The contract is considerably lower than anyone on here thought Sam was going to get. The retain his rights with a $5.2 million offer next summer and the door remains wide open for an extension if this season and the coming Dahlin and Hall negotiations show that is the right path.

And it’s easily tradeable if it’s not.

Jason Botterill is not running this team any more.

Agreed. KA and Ralph have a plan.  And the Pegs seem to be involved but not in the way.  A goal upgrade and this team has improved considerably in the 5 months under the new way.  I wasn’t a fan. But nothing to gripe about on paper. 

[Gabrielor]

21 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Related, this deal is another huge one in the plus column for Adams, IMO.

The contract is considerably lower than anyone on here thought Sam was going to get. They retain his rights with a $5.2 million offer next summer and the door remains wide open for an extension if this season and the coming Dahlin and Hall negotiations show that is the right path.

And it’s easily tradeable if it’s not.

Jason Botterill is not running this team any more.

Fully agree with this.

 

Quinn pick and Girgensons contract vs what the market ended up being remain my only two issues of the off-season. (I've cooled on disliking the Eakins contract)

Edited October 25, 2020 by Gabrielor

[Weave]

2 hours ago, nfreeman said:

I generally agree with the exception of the Zemgus contract, which continues to be nuts.

Separately, I agree that this is a good deal for the Sabres.  Not that good for Reino, although not really bad either, and I can understand why Sam would prefer to avoid the arbitration process.  I think the door is very much open for a long-term contract next summer, but there are a lot of different scenarios in which that would not happen.  This certainly gives the Sabres flexibility to choose a Hall extension over a Reino extension.

 

Yeah, I don't see where this is a good contract for Sam either.  It's a bargain contract for Buffalo and gives Sam no security.  This is the 2nd GM now that doesn't see locking Sam up as a high priority.  I think he gets moved this season.  I hope they are making the right decision.  He's a solid RW with Jack.

[DarthEbriate]

Really nice deal for the Sabres. For the first time in <mumble> years we're going to have two complete top-six lines with NHL players across the board and no rookies who need to deliver to make it a viable lineup. Once Olofsson is locked up, we'll have a solid group of forwards for a admittedly unstable season.

The Okposo and Skinner contracts are spinning wrenches in the sky, and the Girgs contract is like a banana peel on the floor, but this allows some good flexibility for our juggling next year.

Edit: By midseason (whenever it is) we may even have some really nice lineup flexibility with Ruotsalainen adapted to the NHL rink size after some ROC time, Cozens with the ability to move around, and the Asplund/Mitts possibility of pushing for a callup with strong play (ideally).

Edited October 25, 2020 by DarthEbriate

[LabattBlue]

I’m okay with the 1 year deal.  Keep your options open. 

[pi2000]

egregious

[Thorner]

Wouldn't have been too big a fan of this deal BH (Before Hall) - but things are a little bit different around here, now. It seems to be about maximizing this season, and keeping flexibility for beyond. A short term deal in this case of course helps with keeping our options open, and the savings by going 1-year with Sam, here, should aid in our quest to add a goaltender to the roster for the coming season. 

[Thorner]

6 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

I disagree. He got bridged because Botts wanted it and Reinhart bet on himself. Sam got unlucky that his contract is up now. So he takes a nice raise that's slightly team friendly for 1 year while teams adjust. Teams protected because he's still an RFA and Sam can bet on there being more money next year. 

If he wanted to, he could have tried for a 2 year deal and held out for arbitration. 

Should be noted he's still one more arbitration election, nexy year, from UFA status following that season. There is certainly risk, here. 

6 hours ago, freester said:

It will be interesting to see if Sam plays with Jack and is allowed to pad his stats like Skinner did. This lead to Skinners ridiculous contract. I’m sure Sam is hoping for the same. 

Running a balanced set-up and having him on line 3 is looking a little better..

Edited October 25, 2020 by Thorny

[JohnC]

4 hours ago, dudacek said:

It’s likely the 2nd consecutive bargain contract Reinhart has given the Sabres, in terms of production per paycheque.

But he didn’t really have any leverage. If he goes to arbitration and they walk, there is no money left in free agency for a better deal elsewhere. There was also no guarantee he was going to get a better deal than this from an arbitration hearing either, given the Domi and Burakovsky contracts.

It’s not in the Sabres Interest to give him a 2-year deal that walks him to UFA.

And while I’m sure they would have loved to lock him up at a COVID discount on a long-term deal, they aren’t going to do that at a price that could jeopardize contract talks with Hall and Dahlin, or put them in a cap squeeze this year, with Ullmark and Olofsson still out there and the possibility of another move.

From Sam’s perspective, it’s pretty fair value on a one-year deal, and a one-year makes sense to him in the same way it did to Hall: pad the stats while playing with Jack, hope for a better economic situation next summer and give yourself a year to decide whether it’s a good long term fit in Buffalo (read the latter as “can the team win,” because I think Sam generally likes playing here and was starting to turn into a leader.)

I think we all expected him to sign a long-term deal based on a normal cap situation, and that would have been $6.5 million-ish. I personally thought if he didn’t sign long-term it meant he was headed out of Buffalo within two years. But that was before the ground rules changed.

This is definitely a COVID-19 contract.

Sam shows up for every game, produces, never complains and signs team-friendly deals. Haters need to re-think what they actually have here.

Your last sentence resonated with me. I don't understand how anyone can be dissatisfied with his consistent level of play that gets better each year. The specialness to his game is not eye popping dynamic plays. It is the subtle nature of reading plays and setting up plays. And added to the cerebral nature of his game is that he is one of the few players who is gritty enough to play around the net and create some disturbances instead of play around the periphery like too many of the other soft players.  Needless to say I'm a big Sam fan. 

[Thorner]

6 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Also, if he wanted out, Reinhart would have been exceedingly easy to trade. 20 goal scorer, 50-60 point player on a short deal at little money, who plays 80-82 games a season. Very tradable. 

Which remains the case next summer, of course.