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Buffalo Sabres Should Start Jack Eichel And Sam Reinhart For The Rest Of The Season

By Richard Spalding

Mar 7, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Buffalo Sabres center Sam Reinhart (23) talks to center Jack Eichel (15) as they warm up before playing against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 7, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Buffalo Sabres center Sam Reinhart (23) talks to center Jack Eichel (15) as they warm up before playing against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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The rookies are the future, so why not make the future, now?

The Buffalo Sabres have six games remaining on their schedule, and they are not going to make the playoffs.

How’s that for some cold, hard facts on a Tuesday morning?

Of course, you already knew those two things, just like you already knew that the Sabres lost Evander Kane to an injury early in Monday’s loss to the Detroit Red Wings, and that the Sabres rolled out a line consisting of Ryan O’Reilly with rookies Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart as a result.

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You knew those things because you are smart and pay attention to what is going on with the Buffalo Sabres, which is exactly why you will agree that the Sabres need to continue rolling out a starting lineup of O’Reilly-Eichel-Reinhart the rest of the season, regardless of whether or not Kane returns.

This endorsement of the rookies is not meant as a slight to Kane, who has hit 20 goals for the second time in his career and is one of the Sabres’ more entertaining players when he is committed to the sport of hockey.  (Well, that last part wasn’t exactly a glowing recommendation, now was it?)

No, my endorsement of Eichel and Reinhart stems from two realities.  First and foremost, Eichel and Reinhart are the future of the Buffalo Sabres.  O’Reilly and Kane may be the starters for now, but let’s be honest: they are just keeping the spots warm for the two rookies.  Within a year or two, I envision O’Reilly playing a role similar to the one that Ryan Kesler plays for the Anaheim Ducks – a second line guy who wins a lot of faceoffs, is tasked with shutting down the opponents’ best players, and who makes sure the second unit can still put the puck in the back of the net.  Eichel will be the Sabres’ starting center, and if the team is smart they will keep Reinhart as his wing man.

So if Eichel and Reinhart are the future, why not give them a little taste of what it means to be starters in the NHL?  Let these two kids see how they stack up against Sidney Crosby and Patric Hornqvist, Derick Brassard and Rick Nash, John Tavares and Ryan Strome, and so on.  Let them play with the big boys – a little humbling late in the season should turn into some great motivation for the offseason.

Seeing how well Eichel and Reinhart can play with some elite talent, and the motivation to keep improving that will certainly come about as a result, is one reason to start these two kids for the rest of the season – a damn good reason, if I don’t say so myself.  But there is another reason I would love to see Eichel and Reinhart start, and that is simply because I want to see Eichel finish the season in second place among all NHL rookies.

Eichel’s 50 points has him a distant second to Chicago’s Artemi Panarin, but dangerously close to third-place Max Domi (48), fourth-place Connor McDavid (45), and fifth-place Dylan Larkin (44).  We all know how playing alongside Patrick Kane has helped Panarin, but he is not the only rookie benefitting from playing alongside elite talent. Larkin has benefitted from playing alongside Henrik Zetterberg and Justin Abdelkader all season long, while Domi is starting on the left wing next to Martin Hanzal and Anthony Duclair. And even though McDavid plays for the crappy Oilers, he still has Jordan Eberle, who topped 20 goals scored for the fourth time in his career this season, on the wing.

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Meanwhile, Eichel has been making do with fellow rookie Reinhart and Zemgus Girgensons, a player who would not be considered a top-six forward on 75% of the teams in the NHL.  (Yes, I made that number up.)   Why not put him next to O’Reilly as the season winds down, to see if he can finish the season strong in order to put a little distance between himself and the players nipping at his heels?

Everyone in the 716 knows that Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart are future starters for the Buffalo Sabres.  Each of these kids has enjoyed a spectacular rookie campaign and have earned the right to go face-to-face with some of the best players in the NHL, so let ’em have at, even if Kane’s injury only keeps him out tonight.  With all the season-ending momentum that McDavid is picking up, I would love to see Eichel earn another 4-5 points and maybe steal a few first-place votes away from Panarin when it is all said and done.

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