PANTHERS, SAM REINHART AGREE TO 8-YEAR CONTRACT BEFORE NHL FREE AGENCY
NHL Free Agency begins on Monday at 12 p.m. Eastern Time. However, the Florida Panthers have struck a deal to keep their top unrestricted free agent in South Florida. The Panthers have agreed to terms with Sam Reinhart on an eight-year contract, according to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun. The new deal has an average annual value of $8.625 million, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, and should be announced Monday.
This is a major move to keep momentum going in Florida after the Panthers’ Stanley Cup triumph last week. Reinhart played a major role in helping Florida overcome the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final. In fact, he scored the game-winning goal in Game 7. He ripped a shot past Oilers puck-stopper Stuart Skinner to give Florida the lead in the second period.
The veteran forward is a first-time Stanley Cup champion. His regular-season performance was certainly a major reason Florida got to this point, as well. Reinhart scored 57 goals and 94 points — both career highs — in 82 games for the Panthers this past season.
Sam Reinhart became elite with Panthers
Sam Reinhart began his career with the Buffalo Sabres as the second overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft. And he played extremely well despite the Sabres failing to contend for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. His best season in Buffalo came in 2018-19 when he scored 22 goals and 65 points in 82 games.
As mentioned, though, the Sabres never truly contended for the playoffs. After the 2020-21 season, Reinhart became a restricted free agent. Instead of going to arbitration, Buffalo decided to trade the Vancouver native to the Panthers. The Sabres received goalie Devon Levi and a lottery-protected first-round pick in that deal.
Reinhart has absolutely thrived with the Panthers. His first season saw him have a legitimate breakout campaign. The Vancouver native scored 33 goals and 82 points as he smashed his previous career highs. He did see his offensive production decline a bit in 2022-23, but he bounced back in a major way in 2023-24. His 57 goals were second in the NHL behind Auston Matthews, who scored 69.
In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Reinhart has continued to make an impact. 2023 saw him score eight goals and 13 points as the Panthers made a Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Final. However, they lost to the Vegas Golden Knights. This past postseason saw them use the Golden Knights loss as fuel. Reinhart scored nine goals and 15 points to help him and the team lift the Stanley Cup.
Sam Reinhart has become one of the NHL’s premier players. Now, he remains with the team that he helped reach the ultimate heights in hockey. It’ll certainly be interesting to see what else the Vancouver native has in store for the Panthers moving forward.
Like ClutchPoints’ content? Be sure to follow us.
The post Panthers, Sam Reinhart agree to 8-year contract before NHL Free Agency appeared first on ClutchPoints.
2024-07-01T06:03:43Z dg43tfdfdgfd