After months of speculation, the Vegas Golden Knights’ picks are in. The club has selected defender Griffin Reinhart from the Edmonton Oilers. Reinhart played parts of two seasons with Edmonton, but was a massive disappointment for the club considering they gave up the 16th and 33rd overall picks in the 2015 draft for his services.
Reinhart played in 29 games for the Oilers during the 2015-16 season, but it was apparent from the start that he was not ready for NHL time. After a 30 game AHL stint, Reinhart returned to finish the season in Edmonton and actually showed signs of development.
That all said, Reinhart had a terrible training camp for Edmonton last September and was cut early, soon to be replaced by Kris Russell. While he did play one game in the postseason due to injuries, Reinhart’s season overall was a poor one and it was clear he wasn’t one of Edmonton’s top seven defenders.
While the news is no doubt disappointing because of the trade cost to get the player and his potential, it isn’t all that surprising. Reinhart is a young player that is still developing and should be able to grow with Vegas’ roster as they build from the ground up.
Luckily for the Oilers, this move really doesn’t impact them in any way for the 2017-18 season. At best, Reinhart was looking like the seventh defender on the club and he can be easily replaced. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least bit if this news led to the Oilers signing Eric Gryba to another one-year extension in the near future to retain his role as seventh defender.
I wish Reinhart the best in Vegas, and I think I speak for a lot of Oiler fans when I say I’m glad that chapter has been closed.
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