Earlier tonight, Kevyn Adams, the general manager of the Buffalo Sabres, traded one of his top players to the Florida Panthers, Sam Reinhart. The details of the deal were not released at the time of the announcement, so everyone was curious about the other players involved in the deal.
By all appearances, Reinhart will be heading to Florida in return for Devon Levi and a first round pick in 2022. Is this a good deal for the Buffalo Sabres? For my part, when I analyze a trade, I give advantage to the franchise that gets the best player. In this case, it's Reinhart!
Reinhart, now just 25 years old, was selected in the 2014 amateur draft by the Sabres as the second overall pick. In 2018-19, he had his best campaign ever with a 65-point performance, including 22 goals, in 82 games. In 2021, he picked up 40 points (25 goals) in 54 games, which is far from bad. In fact, in his last four campaigns, he scored 25, 22, 22 and 25 goals respectively.
The Panthers' newest acquisition is without a contract (RFA), however, as he just signed a one-year deal that paid him $5.2 million. His next contract should look like that annually, but with a few more years.
In the end, Reinhart finds himself in Florida, where it's good to be, on a great team that is loaded with talent and leadership, which will certainly make a change...
