BUFFALO – After trading Rasmus Ristolainen and making the first and 14th overall selections at the NHL Draft on Friday, general manager Kevyn Adams apparently wasn’t done overhauling the Sabres.
Late Friday, shortly after the first round ended, the Sabres dealt center Sam Reinhart to the Florida Panthers, pending a trade call, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun also reported Reinhart was being moved. The return was unclear.
But when Adams walked on the KeyBank Center floor early Saturday morning to discuss Friday’s happenings, he wouldn’t confirm he had traded Reinhart.
“Right now, it would be inappropriate to make any comments on rumors,” Adams said. “But when and if there’s something to announce, we’ll let you know.”
When pressed if Reinhart, 25, had been dealt, Adams said “it would just be appropriate right now because we’re working on things, and I don’t know sometimes … how long it could go or it couldn’t go.”
Following the season, a less than enthused Reinhart said he did not want to go through a rebuild following the Sabres’ last-place finish.
Reinhart’s 25 goals and 40 points both led the Sabres last season. He has compiled 131 goals and 295 points in 454 career NHL games.
The Sabres drafted Reinhart second overall in 2014.