Edmonton Oilers: The Mystery of Griffin Reinhart
By Dave O'Brien
One season removed from a questionable trade the brought Griffin Reinhart to the Edmonton Oilers, the 22-year-old, left shot defenseman has yet to establish himself as an NHL regular. After making the Oilers roster out of training camp this past season, Reinhart was eventually sent down to the AHL for some seasoning, before receiving a late-season recall. I
Reinhart played 29 games in the NHL, registering a single assist, 24 shots, a -3.3 relative Corsi, 62 hits, 46 shot blocks and 26 giveaways, for only six takeaways. So, overall, he did not prove to be too impressive.
The trade that made Reinhart, the 2012 fourth-overall draft pick, an Oiler has long been criticized as an overpayment, as it cost Edmonton two high draft selections. Further criticism points to the fact that the addition of Reinhart added to depth that the organization already has on the left side.
Reinhart currently sits no better than fifth on the depth chart, behind Oscar Klefbom, Andrej Sekera, Brandon Davidson and Darnell Nurse. It is worth noting that although Nurse also struggled this past season, but he is clearly held in higher regard by the Oilers brass, as he played 69 games with the Oilers this season and showed signs of grit, potential and improvement.
Yet another hurdle for Reinhart to overcome is the plethora of players with significant rookie bonuses, jockeying for a roster spot. Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Darnell Nurse and likely Jesse Puljujärvi, all carry rookie bonuses, leaving Reinhart as the odd man out.
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Teams are only allowed to exceed the salary cap by a certain amount with bonuses, and due mostly to draft position, Reinhart is less attractive than Nurse in this respect. Nurse’s contract carries an AAV of $1,713,333 versus Reinhart’s $3,213,333 AAV. For a team that is cap strapped like the Oilers, that difference is significant.
Reinhart is entering the final year of his entry-level contract, and based off his struggles to this point in his career, is likely to sign a contract with a lower cap-hit next offseason, much like Nail Yakupov did last year. This should be a blessing in disguise, as Reinhart will be easier to fit under the cap, and as a result may see an increase in NHL playing time.
Foerecasting for this season, it is very likely that Reinhart only sees NHL time as a recall due to injury, with the possibility of spending the entire year in the AHL with Bakersfield.
Looking more long-term, based off of Peter Chiarelli’s comments regarding the importance of left and right balance on the backend, the future for Reinhart looks bleak. Reinhart will have to surpass at least two of the players listed above, in order to play bottom pairing minutes on the left side, and one of Klefbom, or Sekera, both of whom are signed long-term, if he hopes to play a top-four role.
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As of now it is more likely than not that Reinhart will be exposed in next off-season’s expansion draft, leaving him as a potential target for the team in Las Vegas. Based off of Edmonton’s depth chart, for Reinhart that might be the best case scenario, for his career to take a step forward.