Are we ready to admit that Reinhart is a bust?

[Rasmus CacOlainen]

I'm not a fan of players, I'm a fan of teams. Jack has hockey sense, he's just playing lazy. Sam has hockey sense and pretty much nothing else except an excellent tip in and semi-decent playmaking ability - that is not enough to be impact player in today's NHL...Looking at our D I'm ready to reopen te trade Reinhart for D conversation but now that he has kinda failed again at C I don't know if it fetches the Hanifin type of player. Theyhave moved him to wing after being pointless so that would not look good in terms of trade value. No idea what to do with him but since I suspect his trade value is very low now I guess it's better to keep him and hope he at least becomes good 3rd line center. This is the exact reason 4 months ago I was advocating to trade him for young D, cause if he fails at C when tested, his value will go down for sure.

 

[Aladyyn]

Reinhart is smarter than Eichel, better passer, better defensively...

He didn't fail at C, Housley failed at evaluation...

 

[cramdizzl]

You're using that term "bust" pretty loosely. Did the Sabres not have enough 1st round busts in the 2000's to teach you what that means?

I guess if your main criteria for a 2nd overall pick is flashiness, then I could see why you'd be disappointed.

I would rather consider his effectiveness, and I think two ~45 point seasons on a crappy team in his first two years is pretty effective. If it takes a little extra attention to notice the plays he makes, so be it.

 

[Rasmus CacOlainen]

Reinhart is smarter than Eichel, better passer, better defensively...

He didn't fail at C, Housley failed at evaluation...

This is not how it will look if you start offering him to teams. It will look like he failed. He was what -6? with 0 points so to a trading team it will be as if he failed. If in his 3rd season he can't be used at center and he's not exactly excellent winger I doubt anyone is giving up a D with top pairing upside for him. It's probably better to keep him and hope for the best for that reason only.

 

[Uberpecker]

"Bust" in Reinhart's case means that (impactwise, not playingstyle-wise) he's gonna be more JVR than Jonathan Toews like we hoped.
For him to be an actual bust he'd have to stagnate or even regress from here on out, and that's not likely.
That being said, it's been three games out of 82. Three games in which he had to adapt to a new position, a new system, a new coach and new teammates. Let's talk again around Christmas.

 

[Aladyyn]

Eichel has been failing at C for ~150 games but I'm sure teams would be lining up to call for him if given the opportunity...

 

[Aladyyn]

"Bust" in Reinhart's case means that (impactwise, not playingstyle-wise) he's gonna be more JVR than Jonathan Toews like we hoped.
For him to be an actual bust he'd have to stagnate or even regress from here on out, and that's not likely.
That being said, it's been three games out of 82. Three games in which he had to adapt to a new position, a new system, a new coach and new teammates. Let's talk again around Christmas.

And over those 3 games he was the one shining beacon of competent 5on5 play... Something we haven't seen on a team-wide level for years and years.

 

[DJN21]

And over those 3 games he was the one shining beacon of competent 5on5 play... Something we haven't seen on a team-wide level for years and years.

You make my man crush on foligno completely irrelevant with your own on sam and frankly I'm not mad about it lol

 

[Kublakhan]

this thread is just what I thought it would be before clicking it lol .. But the poll is flawed so I will not take it..

 

[tsujimoto74]

lol no. Reinhart is at worst a quality 2nd line player.

 

[pigpen65]

He's a fine player but he was unequivocally the wrong pick with the #2 overall in the 2014 draft. Tim Murray didn't draft well.

 

[littletonhockeycoach]

I'll agree with what seems to be the common consensus here that Sam has not settled into the role that suits him best for this team. I pretty much blame management for that......

 

[Gabrielor]

Not a bust at all. Idiots are just jumping the gun in this down period team-wide.

 

[babar]

based off what exactly? this year? I don't know what the expecations on him were exactly. 47 points last year on a team as bad as the sabres. when how many players did better than that last year 2? I almost wonder if the OP is Phil housley if so, phil put him on the 2nd line...

 

[enthusiast]

Being on the weaker side of first forwards picked lately doesn't make him a bust.

 

[Moskau]

I'll agree with what seems to be the common consensus here that Sam has not settled into the role that suits him best for this team. I pretty much blame management for that......

It's not management's fault that our previous coach refused to look back at Ryan O'Reilly's previous body of work and decide to give him a shot at wing for a few games even though he has excelled there so far in his career. Even when Buffalo was clearly eliminated from the playoffs with 10+ games to go Disco Dan didn't try any different line combos. It's way too early to say Housley is going down the same road but there's no better time to try RoR at wing with the way he's playing and he still opted to "punish" Reinhart over trying RoR as Jack or Sam's winger.

 

[Beerz]

Bust only in the sense that he hasn't and most likely won't play to the expectations of a #2 overall pick.

He's going to be a good player tho. Just a complimentary player as opposed to a driver which is what I expect with the #2 selection

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

Every Sabre is a bust to me

I really haven’t liked much since we bottomed out and drafted Eichel. I don’t see how you can point at any one player...there’s not a whole lot to like about this team yet.

 

[Beerz]

Eichel has been failing at C for ~150 games but I'm sure teams would be lining up to call for him if given the opportunity...

Whataboutism.

 

[EichHart]

He's not a bust, but he's not very good either. He was drafted 2nd overall, and Murray would of taken him 1st. In a redraft he is barely top 10. Which means our scouting department and Murray made a terrible pick.

 

[old kummelweck]

this thread is just what I thought it would be before clicking it lol .. But the poll is flawed so I will not take it..

The poll is intended to be absurd.

 

[Icicle]

Might not be what #2OA is in some drafts, but that's fine. If he's a quiet player hopefully his salary stays low.

 

[Moskau]

Also anyone that thinks Reinhart needs to skate faster or that his Hockey IQ doesn't translate to anything tangible in the NHL should watch Alex Galchenyuk play on a nightly basis. He puts his head down and makes it look like he's skating real fast, has a nice looking shot, does everything people say Sam Reinhart needs to do. Basically banned from playing Center ice by two different coaches and now banished to the 4th line. Or watch JVR. Does things people say Sam needs to do. Doesn't do anything in a Hockey game until his team is either leading or trailing by 4 goals. Also 2nd overall.

The only reason Reinhart is in the NHL right now is because his Hockey smarts ARE translating. We're now on year 3 where Reinhart is the only player on the team to have a positive impact on his teammates. Buffalo's most productive lines in that last two seasons all had Reinhart on them. Even when paired with players who were destroyed by the opposition when taken off of Reinhart's line.

 

[Havok89]

I wish we drafted Draisaitl Stokes was bang on with that pick. Too bad though, the Sam's were almost unanimously seen as the top forwards.

 

[hizzoner]

The knock on him was his skating!