Sabres' Sam Reinhart: Finishes season with 47 points
Reinhart finished the 2016-17 season with a career-high 47 points, a five-point improvement from last year.
Although his goal totals dipped to 17 from 23, Reinhart had a solid sophomore season, setting career highs in shots (178), power-play points (17), blocked shots (40) and playing time (17:13 per game). Though there's been a lot of positives, there were two major negatives this season: his even-strength play and getting benched for an entire game on March 28 against Columbus. Reinhart scored just 30 even-strength points in 79 games this season, compared to 32 last year, and over half of his goals came with the man advantage. His lack of strength and speed certainly hurt, but the Sabres are still confident in his abilities, playing him in a top-six role for much of the season and trusting him to play center when Jack Eichel was out of the lineup. His benching was the result of breaking a team rule, and it should be treated as a one-time thing as he matures. Reinhart has one more year on his rookie deal, an incentive to take a big leap forward in his development next season.