Sabres news: Sam Reinhart signs deal with his new team

Sam Reinhart was the second of two draft-day trades that the Buffalo Sabres made on the first day of the NHL Draft last month. But this one left a little more of a sour taste in Sabres fan’s mouths compared to what Buffalo got in exchange for defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen. The Sabres received goalie prospect Devon Levi and a 2022 first-round pick from the Florida Panthers in exchange for Reinhart.

Reinhart is coming off a season in which he tied his career-high in goals in a single season with 25, but he did it in only 54 games. Buffalo continuously refused to lock up Sam long-term with the Sabres, and now it officially cost them one of the more promising young players in the league.

Reinhart officially signed a three-year contract worth $19.5 million with the Panthers. That amounts to an annual cap hit of $6.5 million each year through the 2023-2024 season.

Once Reinhart’s entry-level contract with the Sabres expired, Buffalo signed him to a two-year contract. And once that contract was up going into the 2020-2021 season, Buffalo signed Sam to just one more year instead of trying to have him stay long-term.

Sam was a key piece to the Sabres roster for multiple years and it was obvious that he was someone that any team would love to have on a multiple-year contract. But the Sabres could never make a long-term agreement between them and Sam happen.

And after going through yet another dismal season in Buffalo, it should not come as a surprise to anyone that Reinhart was ready for a change of scenery. It also did not help that there has been plenty of trade rumors surrounding one of Sam’s best friends in Buffalo, Jack Eichel.

So combine the lack of any sort of team success and the chance that your best buddy on the team could be on his way out, Reinhart being traded was not much of a surprise, but it still hurt to see.