Buffalo Sabres Buy Or Sell: Sam Reinhart As Trade Bait

As the NHL trade deadline approaches, the Buffalo Sabres will be looking to sell – but could there be an offer for Sam Reinhart that is too good to refuse?

Buffalo Sabres rookie Sam Reinhart may not be generating any Calder Trophy talk, thanks to the seasons that Artemi Panarin, Dylan Larkin, and Jack Eichel are having, but nothing about Reinhart’s first full season in the NHL can be considered disappointing.

With his goal against the Boston Bruins Thursday, Reinhart has now found the back of the net 13 times, which has him tied for fifth place among all NHL rooks, and his 21 points have him tenth overall.

Naturally, then, Sabres GM Tim Murray would be nuts to even think about including Reinhart in any sort of a trade package, right?

RIGHT?

Well . . . .

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Set aside the “Reinhart is untouchable” talk for a second and consider this: yes, the future of the Buffalo Sabres COULD center around the young trio of Jack Eichel, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Sam Reinhart. Like many of you, I am very excited about watching this core group of players develop, and have no problems pinning my hopes for playoff hockey in the 716 on these young studs.

However, anyone who follows professional sports understands that no player is truly untouchable. Professional hockey is a business, and the players on the rosters are investments, commodities than may be kept or moved, depending on a number of factors. As much as Eichel, Ristolainen and Reinhart appear to be the core of a team that soon will make the Buffalo Sabres a playoff team, what if Tim Murray has the opportunity to bring another All-Star into Buffalo?

Don’t laugh: there are a number of pending UFAs who fit that description, as well as players on non-playoff teams whose salary those teams would love to shed in order to rebuild. Everyone knows that Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning may SAY that Stammer will be back in Tampa Bay next season, but the way the narrative is unfolding sure seems to point in a different direction.

A team featuring Eichel, Ristolainen and Reinhart could be quite deadly in a few years – but a team featuring Stamkos, Eichel and Ristolainen could be deadly NEXT season. And given the fact that Stamkos is already an established player, the Buffalo Sabres will have no problems selling tickets, merchandise and the palpable sense that this team is moving in the right direction to its fans.

Think about what the Sabres could have if they shot for the moon and offered a package to either Tampa Bay that featured Sam Reinhart. In Stamkos, the Sabres would get a 25 year-old sniper who is one of the most dangerous scorers in all of hockey. Stamkos’ 25 goals have him tied for 15th in the NHL, and his line of 7-11-18 certainly was instrumental in helping the Lightning advance to the Stanley Cup Final last season.

Suddenly, the Buffalo Sabre are no longer a team to watch in a few years; instead, they are a team to watch NOW.

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Maybe it’s a bit unrealistic to think that the Sabres could ever swing a deal that brings Stamkos to Buffalo – although I will remind you that he did grow up in Toronto, so he would practically be playing in his backyard – but it’s not unrealistic to posit that Tim Murray could bring a legitimate top-4 left defenseman into the 716 by including Reinhart in a package. Let’s face it: true top-4 defensemen are harder to find than 20-goal scorers, and Buffalo already has Ryan O’Reilly, Eichel, and Zemgus Girgensons at center. Suddenly, Buffalo went from desperately needing top-six centers to being loaded at the position.

With Rasmus Ristolainen emerging as one of the best young blueliners in the NHL, would Buffalo be an improved team if it managed to bring Cam Fowler or, better yet, Hampus Lindholm in because of a deal that included Reinhart? Buffalo has young talent down the middle, and the Anaheim Ducks have six defensemen age 25 or younger – you could easily argue that each team would be dealing from an area of strength and improving their rosters despite surrendering a good, young player.

You can dismiss all of this as wishful thinking, but you cannot ignore the fact that Sam Reinhart is a pretty damn attractive piece of trade bait. I’m optimistic that Buffalo will be fighting for a playoff spot within a few years, and Buffalo has done a nice job building through the draft with some smart trades thrown in. Still, sometimes you have to swing for the fences if you want to be more than a playoff team, so vote on whether you Buy or Sell the idea that the Sabres would even consider dangling Sam Reinhart in the hopes of pulling off a blockbuster trade.

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