The Jack Eichel led Buffalo Sabres are dead.
The Eichel/Sam Reinhart led Sabres are almost definitely dead.
Rasmus Ristolainen has sounded like he’d be relieved to be moved out of Buffalo for, at least, a couple of years now.
So let’s go, alright. Make those calls. Scout those prospects. Make the best deals you can and see what happens.
Mind you, I’m not exactly what you’d call excited by all of this. Ending up in a place where the two players the organization gave away two entire seasons to draft both want to leave is hard to feel good about.
The other day, I even found a new way to feel terrible about all of it.
From the minute Reinhart was drafted in June of 2014, we were already thinking about the 2015 NHL Draft and the possibility of adding either Connor McDavid or Eichel to Reinhart.
Top-two centers anyone? That was the plan, or so many of us thought.
The new aggravating facet of all of this is that despite some clamoring from fans, we never really saw Reinhart at center. There were a handful of games under Phil Housely. Then, because of Eichel’s injury, Reinhart was put at center for an extended stretch this past season and flourished. So much so that coach Don Granato said at one point he’d see no reason to move Reinhart back to the wing.
So we never really saw the top-two centers we envisioned anchoring their own lines, and now they’re both probably goners.
I mean, Eichel, forget it. He’s so far outta here, it’d be ridiculous to consider some other outcome.
Reinhart hasn’t risen to that level, but he’s currently an restricted free agent with one more season to play before he becomes an unrestricted free agent.
This leaves the Sabres with a choice to make if Reinhart isn’t open to signing a long-term contract extension this offseason. Trade him now before he walks for nothing next summer. Maybe I’m mistaken and Reinhart will sign a five-year, $40 million contract to stay, but I seriously doubt it.
Ristolainen? I mean, whatever. He’s got a year left before he can leave as a free agent, and I’d think the Sabres would have to be on glue to extend him. Get whatever you can for him, too.
Eichel and Reinhart are the show of the summer. Trading these two players has a real chance to be the most interesting and important things the Sabres do for the foreseeable future. Get the return right, and the Sabres could be set up for actual real future success.
I know, crazy.
Get it wrong, and we’re signed up for more long walks along Darcy Regier’s suffering path.
So there is excitement to see what the trades look like, despite the complete and utter organizational incompetence that has forced them. Names of high picks from the last couple of NHL Drafts have been talked about through the spring and summer. Alexis Lafreniere, Quinton Byfield, Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale. Pull one or more of those guys into the boat and the Sabres will have done well.
Yes, other pieces and picks should be included too, but if the centerpiece of the return is one of those names or comparable, that will matter more than the picks, prospects and even NHL players that fill out the trades.
So let’s go. Time to try and make the best of a horrendously bad situation.
It’s all we’ve got.