Two days after Sam Reinhart was bolted to the pine for the entirety of Buffalo’s 3-1 loss to Columbus -- his punishment for showing up late to a team stretch -- Reinhart discussed the incident, and didn’t sound overly thrilled about how it played out.
“It’s a coach’s decision. It’s a management decision,” Reinhart said, per the Buffalo News. “From my perspective, I would have rather battled it out with my teammates.
“I don’t think five minutes in the morning is going to influence my preparation for a game, but it was a team stretch and I should have been there on time.”
Reinhart also had this to say:
"Sh$t happens." - Sam Reinhart on misreading text and being 5-6 minutes late to Sabres stretch, resulting in full-game benching.
— John Vogl (@BuffaloVogl) March 30, 2017
Discipline of this nature is pretty common, though the way Reinhart’s played out was a bit more dramatic. Rather than park him in the press box as a healthy scratch, the Sabres -- who didn’t have an extra forward, as Kyle Okposo was out sick -- dressed the 21-year-old, then sat him for the entire 60 minutes.
The Buffalo News said the move “would seem to send a deeper message than merely being scratch,” adding that “there has been friction between players and [Sabres head coach Dan] Bylsma throughout the season.”
In the club’s defense, Reinhart is hardly the first young player to be punished for lateness. Nikita Zadorov had repeated issues with punctuality and, after being suspended, was eventually traded to Colorado. Evander Kane was parked for a game last season after sleeping in and missing a practice.
Of course, each situation is unique and some will argue showing up five minutes late for a stretch isn’t on par with what Zadorov and Kane did. Which is fair. That could be why Bylsma said the club might consider a policy change.
And that could by why Reinhart’s teammate, Jack Eichel, tried to put things in perspective.
“We’re obviously not going to hold it over his head here,” Eichel said, per the News. “He didn’t really do too much wrong.”