Golden Knights sign Griffin Reinhart, Brendan Leipsic to 2-year deals
The Vegas Golden Knights signed restricted free agents Griffin Reinhart and Brendan Leipsic to two-year contracts, the team announced Saturday.
Reinhart's deal comes with an average annual value of $800,000, while Leipsic will have an AAV of $650,000.
Reinhart, 23, was scooped up by Vegas from the Edmonton Oilers in the expansion draft. The hulking 6-foot-4 defenseman was taken fourth overall by the New York Islanders in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, but hasn't lived up to the hype thus far in his career. Appearing in just 37 NHL games, Reinhart has just two points, 28 giveaways, and two takeaways.
Leipsic might be the complete opposite of Reinhart.
The diminutive 5-foot-9 winger was a third-round selection by the Nashville Predators in the very same 2012 draft. He was taken by Vegas in the expansion draft from the Toronto Maple Leafs after racking up 51 points in 49 AHL games a season ago. He has just six games of NHL experience, coming in 2015-16 with Toronto, in which he picked up a goal and two helpers.
Leipsic has a chance of making Vegas' initial roster out of training camp, but Reinhart could be in tough considering the abundance of defensemen general manager George McPhee took in the expansion draft.
With Reinhart and Leipsic signed, smooth-skating RFA defenseman Nate Schmidt remains the only unsigned player on the Golden Knights' roster.