Oftentimes a player doesn’t meet expectations of the first team they play for. To unlock a player’s potential and maximize their development, sometimes it calls for a change of scenery and the right environment and cast for/around them. For Sam Reinhart, the Florida Panthers were that organization. Reinhart was drafted by Buffalo and played seven seasons there before, ultimately, Buffalo elected to move on and trade him to Florida in 2021. Three seasons later, after defeating the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Finals in seven games, Sam Reinhart and the Florida Panthers are Stanley Cup champions. Heading into this year’s offseason, Reinhart’s contract was up and he was a top coveted free agent. Florida made one of the best signings this offseasonc extending Reinhart to a 69 million dollar deal for 8 years. Liam writes about the signing and much more in his Florida Panthers offseason article here.

Over his first seven seasons in Buffalo, Reinhart eclipsed the twenty-goal mark four times and totaled sixty-five points once. However, Buffalo struggled even with a lot of young talent like Reinhart. On July 24th 2021, Reinhart was traded to the Florida Panthers in exchange for a 2022 1st round draft pick (top ten protected) and Devon Levi. That summer, Reinhart signed the extension in Florida, 3 years for $19.5 million. Since signing in Florida over the past three seasons, he has eclipsed the thirty goal mark all three seasons. The 23’-24 season was the magnum opus of his career thus far. He demonstrated his excellent goal scoring prowess tallying fifty-seven goals (second most in the league) while scoring the most powerplay goals with twenty-seven and the second-most shorthanded with five. Reinhart was clutch for Florida, scoring eleven game-winning goals in their successful pursuit of finishing first in the Atlantic. According to Evolving-Hockey, Reinhart’s goals above replacement was 21 and, based off of their SPAR model was deemed worth $15.7 million. His new extension averages out to $8.625 million a season. Over the past three years, his GAR was never below 12.9, illustrating his contributions and consistency as a goal scorer. Possession metrics have significantly supported Reinhart’s value, as well – His Corsi and Fenwick percentages were both above 57 5-on-5, (57.7 and 57.1), indicating that when Reinhart is on the ice, Florida dominates puck possession battle. This past season, he only took 31 PIMs, therefore additionally demonstrating great poise and discipline and not putting his team at a disadvantage. His goals per 60 were a whopping 1.1, assists per 60 were 1.2. Since Sam Reinhart has been in Florida, he has been a dominant and significant piece to Florida’s roster. With extending him to a long term deal, Florida is still a favorite to win the Cup this upcoming season. Their top six is dangerous and extremely talented and Reinhart looks to have another impressive season where he looks to follow up his 57 goal campaign.