Jack Eichel And Sam Reinhart Are Already Carving Out Their Place In Buffalo Sabres History
Buffalo has a new dynamic duo with greatness on its mind!
There have been some amazing dynamic duos in the history of the NHL, but every so often the universe conspires to link two players together right from their beginning of their professional careers. For example, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry both began their NHL careers as members of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 2005-06, while Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane spent the 2007-08 season as rookies with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Clearly, when we speak about Getzlaf/Perry and Toews/Kane, we are speaking about two of the best 1-2 punches to ever play together in the NHL. The fact that these players started their careers together almost certainly helped them develop the sort of chemistry that has forced people to discuss them in the same conversation as Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier, Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr, and Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr – just to name a few.
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As it just so happens, the Buffalo Sabres currently have two rookies who are causing fans to dream that, one day, they will also make their own case as one of the best dynamic duos in NHL history. Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart, those back-to-back number two overall picks, are currently ranked 2nd and 8th, respectively, among all rookies, and are a huge reason why so many of our readers believe that the Sabres will actually compete for a playoff spot as early as next season.
The numbers that Eichel and Reinhart are putting up certainly lend weight to the notion that these two are going to have a chance to do something special should they remain together in the 716 for a long time. For starters, Eichel and Reinhart are on track to become the first Buffalo Sabres rookie tandem to score 30+ points apiece since Thomas Vanek (48) and Jason Pominville (30) accomplished that feat back in 2005-06. In addition, the two could become the first two Sabres rookies to top 20 goals in the same year since Danny Gare (31) and Peter McNab (22) did it during the 1974-75 season.
In case you are wondering, comparing the rookie seasons of Buffalo’s dynamic duo to those of Toews and Kane do not exactly do Eichel and Reinhart justice, since Kane led all Blackhawks in scoring with 72 points his rookie season, and Toews chipped in 54. However, that Blackhawks team went 40-34-8 and featured Patrick Sharp, Dustin Byfuglien, Duncan Keith – damn it, it was just a better team. Kane only scored 21 goals that season, but enjoyed 51 assists thanks to the caliber of the players he had around him. Toews actually scored more goals than Kane with 24, so it is conceivable that Eichel and Reinhart could actually match or surpass those two ‘Hawks in the goal-scoring category.
Turning out heads to the West Coast, however, shows us that Eichel and Reinhart have actually eclipsed the rookie efforts produced by Getzlaf and Perry. Those two gentlemen played on a team that went 43-27-12 in 2005-06, but Getzlaf’s line of 14-25-39 has already been tied by Eichel, while Perry’s 13-12-25 falls short of the 17-9-26 that Reinhart is still adding to as we speak.
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Only time will tell how favorably people speak of the Buffalo Sabres’ dynamic duo of Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart, but the numbers do not lie. These two kids are already carving out a niche in the history of the Buffalo Sabres franchise, and with someone like Ryan O’Reilly pushing them to work harder, it is perfectly acceptable to put your faith in these two players. Fans in the 716 are thirsty, but with Eichel and Reinhart in town it’s conceivable that Lord Stanley’s Cup could be making an appearance in our lifetime!