Would Edmonton have kept Sam Reinhart up if they drafted him?

[*M*J*D*]

Listening to Oilers now, someone from Buffalo said Reinhart was sent down because he wasn't strong enough. I am curious if Edmonton would have kept him up or sent him back since it seems at least some of the reason we hear Draisaitl was kept up was because of organizational need that we don't have any centers to replace him.

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[The Nuge]

Probably not. Draisaitl hasn't been nearly as out of place as people keep claiming

 

[CornKicker]

take the logical process with a player then do the opposite.....#oilerstalk

 

[oXo Cube]

I think they would have tried harder to get a free agent center.

Failing that, probably still send him down and employ Acton full time

 

[McShogun99]

Reinhart would have had the 2C spot locked up the day we drafted him...

 

[Beerfish]

Yes he would still be here 100% for sure. The 'brain trust' left themselves with no other alternative.

 

[doulos]

Kept him up and had some lousy excuse about how well he looks.

Draisaitl should have been nowhere near the NHL either.

 

[1Gold Standard]

Kept him up and had some lousy excuse about how well he looks.

Draisaitl should have been nowhere near the NHL either.

absolutely agree. Edmonton management washes their hair in stupidity and follows the lather, rinse, repeat rule to perfection. at least they got something down.

 

[Throttlehead]

They would have kept him on the team, no doubt.

The best player out of the draft will be Bennet.

 

[thadd]

I'm pretty sure Mac-T would have gone out of his way to sign a free agent center if we'd drafted anyone else.

 

[Spawn]

I'm pretty sure Mac-T would have gone out of his way to sign a free agent center if we'd drafted anyone else.

I doubt it. They would have shoehorned him into a spot he wasn't ready for.

 

[Took a pill in Sbisa]

I doubt it. They would have shoehorned him into a spot he wasn't ready for.

This.

Bob Stauffer's revealed that McT had discussions with atleast Jokinen and Perreault.

 

[Soundwave]

Prior to the draft I remember people saying that Reinhart was the most NHL ready, Draisaitl and Bennett both needed a year in junior most likely.

So it's probable they would have drafted Reinhart and pencilled him in as a lock for the 2C. But they did that anyway even with Draisaitl, lol.

 

[Up the Irons]

Reinhart would have had the 2C spot locked up the day we drafted him...

without a doubt, this.

 

[Aerchon]

Looking back at how training camp went, how difficult it is to acquire centers in this league, and of course the Oilers depth at the position... I am fairly sure Reinhart would have stayed if he was an Oiler.

Reinhart is considerably bigger/stronger than say Nuge or Bennet were in their draft year and older too.

It is one of those situations where there is no right answer. I think being sent down by Buffalo would/could piss off Reinhart and being sent down to a crap team makes it even worse. But you can never truly go wrong by sending a player back to junior.

EDIT: On a related note. I think Leon has been getting better, stronger, and faster as the season has gone on. I know it is a poor comparison but in his first year Leon looks 100 times better than Gagner ever has as an NHL centerman (point production aside). The improvement is slow but steady imo and does give credence to the idea that a big guy like Leon was far too big, talented, and strong to learn much in junior.

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

They would have kept him on the team, no doubt.

The best player out of the draft will be Bennet.

Can I have Lotto Max numbers out of your crystal ball?

 

[FunkyChicken]

Doubt it.
He was generating next to no offense, I think he had 3 shots in 9 games.

 

[Klimando Kostani]

wasnt he like 20% on faceoffs?

 

[Mr Positive]

Reinhart was terrible. We wouldn't have kept him up. The somewhat comparable situation is Nuge, who was also weak, but he was putting up big numbers right away. So, they aren't comparable.

The Drai situation is more like what Monahan last year. They are similar players. Drai is a bit better actually. So far they are progressing similarly. Drai is doing well, unlike Reinhart was.

 

[Oiltankjob Fail]

Probably not. Draisaitl hasn't been nearly as out of place as people keep claiming

This I was not a big fan of us drafting him I was huge on Ekblad but I think he will be the best forward taken out of the draft,his hockey sense is really high and passing is near elite.

 

[rboomercat90]

i don't see any reason to believe they would have sent him back down. Draisatl hasn't set the world on fire and he's still here. They desperately needed a center in the lineup. Why would Mactavish have "tried" harder to get a center if he had drafted Reinhart instead of Draisatl as was suggested above? Doesn't make any sense. He was either unable to get one and couldn't or he didn't want one in the first place.

 

[Digger12]

Those saying the Oilers would have kept Reinhart up no matter what, are just using him as a prop to vent their angst about Draisaitl being here, even though Drai wasn't nearly as obviously not ready for the NHL as Reinhart was.

Even during preseason and their rookie camp, according to the Buffalo guy Stauffer was interviewing it was apparent that Reinhart was having difficulty with not only the strength of the players, but with the speed of the game. Frankly I'm surprised they even gave him 9 games.

Anyway, it's all moot. He's not an Oiler, Draisaitl is. I'm sure they'll both be very good NHLers, if not this year.

 

[Horseradish]

As if that's even a question. They only had 3 Cs to start the year, and they would've only had 3 Cs regardless of who they drafted at centre.

 

[rboomercat90]

Those saying the Oilers would have kept Reinhart up no matter what, are just using him as a prop to vent their angst about Draisaitl being here, even though Drai wasn't nearly as obviously not ready for the NHL as Reinhart was.

Even during preseason and their rookie camp, according to the Buffalo guy Stauffer was interviewing it was apparent that Reinhart was having difficulty with not only the strength of the players, but with the speed of the game. Frankly I'm surprised they even gave him 9 games.

Anyway, it's all moot. He's not an Oiler, Draisaitl is. I'm sure they'll both be very good NHLers, if not this year.

I don't know if you're referring to my post or not but just to be clear, I'm not knocking Draisatl or Reinhart. I'm knocking Mactavish's inability or refusal to bring an NHL center in here during the offseason and painting himself into a corner where he had no choice but to keep the young kid he drafted up here regardless of whether he should be or not.

 

[TheGuyInTheChair]

Of course. MacT wasn't going to put his summer holidays on hold and sign an actual NHL center.