Why trading for Reinhart isn’t the best idea
First of all, adding Reinhart would help the Canucks’ top six forward group. He would provide additional scoring on the first or second line, and could even be a third line centre.
However, he won’t come for cheap. Many believe that the Sabres would be want a first round pick from this year’s draft in return, so the ninth overall pick would be a steep price to pay. Plus, the Sabres could be asking for other assets on top of that, whether it be prospects or current roster players.
After scoring 25 goals last season, he surely would want a raise from his current $5.2 million annual salary. Per PuckPedia, the Canucks have a projected cap space of about $15 million going into next season. We all know that is mostly going to be used for Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes‘ contracts. Oh, and they’ll also need to find a third line centre and at least one top-four defenceman. Bottom line is that Reinhart is going to come with an expensive contract, even if it is a one or two-year deal, and the Canucks realistically won’t be able to afford his services.
Reinhart also hasn’t been too good of a play driver.
Yes, Reinhart can put pucks into the net, but given his playmaking abilities, as well as how expensive he will be, it would be in the best interest of the team if the Canucks didn’t trade for him, and they definitely should not trade away their ninth overall pick to make that happen.
In fact, the Canucks shouldn’t be trading their ninth overall pick at all.