A Quick Thought on Griffin Reinhart

I don’t have to remind people, I wasn’t a fan of the trade that the Edmonton Oilers made on draft night. To this point, it is one of only two (Marincin…) moves that I haven’t agreed with Peter Chiarelli on. That’s okay, he’s paid to be the GM and his results in Boston do not lie, he is good at what he does.

Griffin Reinhart was a stud player in the WHL for the Edmonton Oil Kings, I don’t think many people can dispute that. The comment of him being a ‘horse’ was said by both Peter Chiarelli and Bob Green, and I believe that’s an accurate statement. He played against the top opposition as an Oil King, and he played heavy minutes. To put it politely, he carried that Edmonton blue-line.

His junior career isn’t what I didn’t like, he was great at that level. Watching the 2014 WHL Championship and Memorial Cup, he impressed me as a player, I won’t lie.

That all said, there are still two things that bug me about this trade. Reinhart’s AHL debut in 2014-15 and the price paid in assets to bring the defender in.

The Price:

You won’t find anyone who disagrees with me on this, Edmonton overpaid for Reinhart’s services. Whether it be our friend Lowetide, myself or a random twitter commenter, many agree that the price was simply too high.

At pick 16, Edmonton could have had a forward like Evgeni Svechnikov or Matthew Barzal, both of whom promise to be solid NHL’ers.

At pick 33, Edmonton could have had some pretty interesting players, whether it be Brandon Carlo, Thomas Dermott or Paul Bittner. None of these guys are studs, but they are all solid prospects who fill real areas of need for the Edmonton Oilers. This fact simply cannot be ignored.

Yes, each of these players likely needs three or four years of development, but all of them could be better players than Reinhart. It’s a big risk. I may be wrong, I hope I am, but I’m viewing this today as a big risk.

I think highly about Svechnikov, Barzal and Dermott.

AHL 2014-15:

Reinhart didn’t have a great pro debut in the AHL this past season. Was it awful? No, not by any stretch, but I don’t think he established himself in the Islander organization. He played in 59 AHL games with Bridgeport, scoring 22 points and posting a -13 rating.

22 points, for a stay-at-home D like Reinhart who had some offensive question marks, is pretty good. No complaining about his offense from me. According to his scouting report he moves the puck well and has a decent shot.

His -13 rating doesn’t mean a ton to me, because the stat is highly overrated, but it’s worth noting. He did not have the best defensive season this past year. Some people who cover and watch the Sound Tigers thought he was better than the numbers indicated, while some saw him as a disappointment.

I had one chance to view him in the AHL last season, and I thought he looked unimpressive and a tad slow. That said, it was early on in the season and he did improve as the year went on. I didn’t get to see him late, but I’ve read people who have and they thought he improved as the season grew.

That all said, he didn’t exactly establish himself as a dominating defender or a stalwart at the AHL level, something to note.

NHL Stint:

Reinhart played briefly, getting into eight regular season and one playoff game with the Islanders. He registered one assist and a +1 rating in that time. Admittedly, I didn’t see much of him during this time, but those who did said he handled himself quite well. Jonathan Willis has an EXCELLENT post on his NHL time here. Well worth the read.

Based off of what I’ve read about his season, it seems like he was much more comfortable in the NHL than he was in the AHL, which I find interesting.

Parting Shots:

There are a lot of thoughts flying around about this deal. At first, I hated it, absolutely hated it. Now, I’m kind of on the fence about it, still leaning towards not liking it. Is Reinhart a bust? Absolutely not, but he’s certainly not as established as he probably should be or would like to be at this point.

Is his footspeed an issue? It could be at the NHL level. When I saw him, I thought he was a tad slow, but it’s certainly not as bad as many people make it out to be. Those who saw Reinhart far more than I did last season also say it isn’t really an issue, so this whole thing may be overblown. This is one thing I look forward to seeing in camp.

There’s no doubt he is a solid defender, here is his scouting report from The Hockey News.

Assets:	Is a great puck mover with a very projectable 6-4 frame and plenty of poise. Can log huge amounts of ice time and has offensive ability. Is also an asset on special teams.
Flaws:	Isn’t overly physical, which somewhat diminishes his all-round upside. Must fill out and become stronger physically in order to better handle big NHL forwards.
Career Potential:	Stabilizing, big-minute defenseman with good upside.

There are a lot of opinions flying around about Griffin Reinhart right now. With that said, here is mine. I think Reinhart will be a real NHL player, likely a top-four defender at this level. I can see him being a better version of Jason Smith, which is something I think we can all grow to love.

Will he ever be a stud? Probably not, but I still think he’ll be a good player. Is he worth the price given up? That remains to be seen.

Like I said, I don’t hate the trade right now like I did on June 26th, but I am certainly not sold on it.

Here’s the lone fact on the subject. Griffin Reinhart is motivated and ready for camp, and will have a real chance to establish himself as an Oiler this fall. We’re just along for the ride, so let’s sit back and enjoy it.