Also, really look at the supporting cast around him. Reinhart was a staple on his wing, and a promising young player, but his career high is 47 points. On the other wing his most common linemate was Foligno, who's career high is 23 points. Chiasson had 24 points last year for some perspective.
The entirety of the Sabres defense had 17 goals. Hamilton had 13, Giordano had 12 (Flames defense had 38).
In terms of even-strength point production, he really didn't have much of a chance. He really was the opposite of Draisaitl in what happened to him. Put Monahan out there with Tkachuk, Chiasson, Wideman and Engelland and we wouldn't be surprised to see his numbers plummet, but that's really comparable to what Eichel played with on even strength most of the time.
But throw him out their with O'Reilly, Okposo and Ristolainen on the PP and all of a sudden he's only behind Backstrom in terms of powerplay production for centers.
As pathetic as it is, Pominville, Kane and Beaulieu on the back could be huge upgrades offensively compared to what he was working with last year. In any case, a center that can put up point-per-game numbers while having no supporting cast for most of his minutes is pretty much getting to the point of generational talent at this time.
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