After C.J. Smith’s signing on July 16th, Sam Reinhart is the only remaining restricted free agent for the Buffalo Sabres.
Smith joins Justin Bailey, Danny O’Regan, Nicholas Baptiste, and Sean Malone as RFAs that have signed one year deals this off-season with the Sabres. The question is now whether Reinhart will get a bridge deal or a long-term contract.
This off-season we have seen a mix of both types of contracts with the current crop of RFAs. Here are the contracts for the top RFA forwards this off-season:
| Previous | PPG | CF% | Career GP | Career PS | |||
| Anthony Mantha | Red Wings | $832,500 | 2 years/6.6 million | 0.58 | 53% | 150 | 10.2 |
| Elias Lindholm | Flames | $2,700,000 | 6 years/ 29.1 million | 0.5 | 53.10% | 374 | 15.5 |
| Vladislav Namestnikov | Rangers | $1,975,000 | 2 years/8 million | 0.47 | 52.90% | 263 | 13.3 |
| Tomas Hertl | Sharks | $925,000 | 4 years/22.5 million | 0.52 | 54.30% | 328 | 19.2 |
| Sam Reinhart | Sabres | $894,000 | ?????????????? | 0.56 | 50.60% | 249 | 14.8 |
*Statistics and salaries from hockey-reference.com and capfriendly.com
In terms of productivity and experience, Reinhart fits into the middle of this pack. The 2014 second overall draft pick, Reinhart has 3 full seasons under his belt and at this point has assumed the role as Jack Eichel’s right wing on the top line.
Additionally, Reinhart led the team in goals last season (tied with Eichel with 25 goals) and he had a career high of 50 points. Only 3 other players from the 2014 draft have played more games than Reinhart (Aaron Ekblad, Leon Driasital, David Pastrnak) and only Draisaitl, Pastrnak, and Nicholas Ehlers have scored more points.
Related Story: Sam Reinhart Has Kicked The Sophomore Slump
So, are the Sabres ready to give Reinhart a long-term contract?
A bridge deal gives Phil Housley and Jason Botterill more time to see if Reinhart can continue progressing (37 of Reinhart’s 50 points came in the second half of the season). However, a better question might be why would they not give him a long-term contract now?
The advantages of the bridge deal is buying up two free agent years and signing him to a contract that will be less costly than the contract signed after the bridge deal expires. Additionally, the Sabres have over 12 million in cap space plus Jason Pominville’s 5.6 million dollar contract falling off at the end of the season.
It is also a fair assumption that the salary cap will continue to increase each year. If the current young core of the Sabres can move the organization in the right direction, signing Reinhart to a long-term contract now will give the Sabres more flexibility in the free agency market as the team gets more competitive.
There is also the benefit of pushing the Cody Hodgson contract further out of our collective memories.
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What type of contract do you think the Sabres should offer Sam Reinhart? Leave your comments below!